My Orange Archipelago Journey
by Stormcyclone21
Summary: This is Jordan Hale's second journey, join him as he travels to the Orange Islands on a request from professor Oak, what will happen on his journey?
1. A Champion

**Disclaimer: I do own Pokémon, not yet.**

 **A/N: Hello all, welcome back. This is the start of a brand new Pokémon arc, so I hope you like it as much as the last one. This is the Orange Island Archipelago arc, though it may be the shortest of the arcs I hope you will find it as enjoyable as the first one. Without further ado, let's get on.**

A Champion

He landed atop his Dragon remembering the last time he had a good battle.

It was at least four years ago, that was also the last battle he lost.

Since then every trainer had not been as up to par, they had been too easy, no other trainer had even reached his Dragonite.

He returned his Dragonite and walked toward the battlefield.

One time he had almost a whole year with no challengers, the trainers weren't skilled enough to take on him, they weren't able to beat the Orange islands four gyms.

The boy who beat him came with Pokémon that were not native to the Orange islands, they were from another region, a region further away that Kanto.

This boy battled with so much ferocity, it was hard to tell if the boy was angry or it was just his battling style.

No doubt Drake liked the battle as it gave him some self of adventure something he hadn't experienced in a while. Something he almost yearned for.

Drake jumped off his Dragonite and made his way to the stone torch that was embedded into one of the stadiums walls, there were peices of ash in the torch still smouldering.

Drake knew that if Moltres didn't show soon it would be a bad year, and he didn't want another bad year.

Any minute now the next challenger would come to face him, he saw the boy with all four badges in the palm of his hand off the coast of this island.

Flashback*

 _A boy with striking red hair that was in a mess came onto the battlefield as if he didn't care that he was there._

 _'Welcome to the Orange Islands Pokémon league, congratulations on making it this far, but_ _you know I won't take it easy on you.' Drake said._

 _The boy didn't say anything, he just had his head hung._

 _He took out his first Pokéball and threw it onto the field._

 _Drake wondered why this boy didn't seem like he cared about this battle, not many people could say they have won in the Orange Archipelago Pokémon league_.

Flashback*

Drake knew that this league was different from the other Pokémon leagues. This league wasn't set like the others. You have a year to win all eight badges and compete in the Pokemon league, but in this Pokémon league if you have beaten all four Gyms you can go straight to battle Drake.

Another difference was that the only member of this Pokémon league was the champion, Drake.

The Gyms were challenge enough, they were not like normal Pokémon battles, they weren't just battling, they showed that both Pokémon and trainer had skill.

It made sense that the first three Gym leaders had water type Pokémon since they were in the Orange island archipelago so they were surrounded by water.

But the leader of Kumquat islands Gym preferred to use Pokémon that were not from the water type category.

Drake had travelled to all the other islands in the Orange archipelago, but not all islands were that similar.

Most people would assume that since the islands are classed as an archipelago people would call it a region and have a belief that all the Pokémon were the same, but it was known that no two islands hold the same type of Pokémon, each island shows a Pokémon that might have a noticeable difference. Not all Pokémon were like this, but Drake knew that this was not uncommon Hmong these islands.

That's what the professor here did.

Like all regions they each had a professor, this regions professor was professor Felina Ivy.

She studied the physiological differences in Pokémon on the many different islands and why they were different.

The professor resides on Valencia island, but she does travel quite a lot, she does have a good expanse of Pokémon in the lagoon, or Pokémon reserve. All the Pokémon there are kept safe and are forbidden to capture, it's not just there, a few islands in the archipelago do that to ensure the diversity of the Pokémon doesn't change it would traumatically change the way the people and Pokémon live on these islands.

Drake loved travelling the island when he had time, it was good to get away from his post of being champion, plus those challengers could always wait, not all battles he had were as soon as the challenger got to the league stadium.

Drake had to admit that in the last few years that the stadium he battled in had changed dramatically, not only was it much larger and could hold more people it had become much more modernised.

Before his stadium was built it was dusty and it had two almost semicircular sandstone stands that could about fifty people at a maximum.

Now his stadium stands were at least five meters from the battlefield lines. The battlefield was now grass also.

The stadium was round and it had two entrances, one on each side, his and the challengers. The stadium could hold at least a thousand spectators. The spectators had a circle roof above them while the middle of that circle was missing.

Drake believed that every trainer he battled could battle in any weather, so he didn't ask for a roof over the battlefield only over the spectators.

The Orange islands league had grown more popular in the last ten years and this helped Drake build a stadium that he now stood in, true it was vacant at this point, but Drake had never seen it so empty in the last three years it had been standing.

Drake thought his team was good and strong, an all rounded good solid team, sure he had weaknesses, but he also had those covered.

Though his pride Pokémon was Dragonite, that didn't mean that he didn't take pride in his other Pokémon, they were all huge assets, but he believed that Dragon Pokémon were the best.

Drake was told a few hours ago by Kumquats island Gym leader Luana that there was a new challenger on the way, so Drake flew back to where his stadium was and was now waiting for either the stands to fill up, or the challenger to appear. Drake had learnt that not all challengers had many spectators, some didn't even have one, but Drake didn't mind, he wasn't here for the spectators he was here for a good battle, a good time with a trainer that was worthy to battle him.

It was true that the Orange island Gym leaders were the hardest to beat as they not only had skills, but they weren't bad at battling either.

Drake hadn't noticed, but a few spectators had entered the stands.

He stood in his battle box.

Another trainer was to enter the stadium now.

He saw only three spectators in the stands.

One had black hair that fell just to cover his ears. He had a red headband that covered the GOP of his forehead and kept his hair up.

He wore a green t-shirt and red shorts. To the left of him was a girls with chocolate brown hair that fell to her armpits. She was wearing a white sun hat with a baby pink bow on it. She was wearing a mint green top and a white skirt that fell to just above her knees.

There was a second girl to the first girls left, this girl had blond hair that fell to just below her shoulders, she wore a cream fedora hat a green t-shirt and a fluffy pink jacket that had a hood. She was also wearing blue denim shorts that fell to halfway up between her knee and hips. She had a Pikachu sitting on her lap. Drake could see the Pikachu had a pink bow at the base of its left ear.

I wondered the challenger that would have only three spectators.

A boy with black hair and a red and white cap came in, he had a black short sleeved t-shirt with grey outlines, he had a green jacket hoodie with a single white stripe going along the sleeves. He was also wearing blu faded jeans. His trainers were white and red. He had a Pikachu on his shoulder. The boy had a grey messenger bag and the Pokéball belt was around his waist, he had a premier ball and a great ball strapped to it.

'Hello, challenger. My name is Drake, I am the champion of the Orange islands league.' Drake welcomed the challenger.

 **I** **know this is extremely short, but it didn't need to be long it introduces one of the characters, plus I thought it would be okay for you to see someone elses point of view and not Jordans, but rest assured next chapter will be longer, in Jordans point of view and a year before this event takes place.**

 **Anyway, until next time**.


	2. A Request from a Professor

**Disclaimer: Hi just to say I don't own Pokémon.**

A Request from a Professor

I didn't know what was so different about this Pokéball compared to the others, sure, it did look different to the standard Pokéball. Although, so did the premier ball and great ball that held my Sandslash and my Blastoise respectively.

But I knew that this type of Pokéball was special, the great professor Oak was going to tell me about it, so it must be important.

'I found this a few days ago and I have been researching about it ever since. I don't know anything about it, plus it won't open.' The professor continued.

'The professor has a friend in the orange island archipelago called Professor Felina Ivy, she is interested in uncovering the mysteries of this Pokéball.' Leaf explained.

'And you would like me to take it?' I asked rhetorically.

'I know it's a lot, considering you came back and that your friends just returned home.' The professor said apologetically. 'But you'd be helping me a lot, plus Professor Ivy might have some insights about some Pokémon you might find useful.' The professor added.

The professor sure was asking a lot from me, but to be fair he couldn't really do what he asked me to do, he ran this lab in Kanto and couldn't really leave this region, plus going on another adventure was exactly what I wanted. I started to miss it and I had only completed my first one. I missed all the twist and turns it entailed, I missed the highs and lows, the spectacular and the perils that endangered me.

It wouldn't be the same without Rachel. I wondered how it would be different without her. If she didn't accompany me throughout Kanto I would never have met Camilla, Brock would probably not have come with me, and Camilla wouldn't be travelling with me either, plus Liam would still be the self-centred person he was when he and I started this journey. I don't think Leaf would have accompanied him either, I probably wouldn't have even caught up with her.

I took the GS ball from the professor and started to inspect it.

'I'll be joining you, Jordan.' Leaf told me.

I looked up in astonishment.

'Really?' I exclaimed.

She nodded. 'These past few months that I spent travelling have been the best months of my life, I've learned and gained so much knowledge, I don't know how it could possibly end there.' Leaf explained.

I wouldn't protest to Leaf, she was really excited about learning so much about Pokémon. The professor did say that this professor ivy did know a lot about Pokémon. Leaf wouldn't hesitate at the idea of learning more.

I wanted to bring Brock and Camilla long, I know that was me being selfish, and that I should let them spend time with their family, but I wouldn't travel if they didn't come with me. Professor Ivy may also be able to them a few things that they wanted to know about Pokémon.

I needed to call them up and ask if it was okay if they came with me, we had been through so much I couldn't afford to go without them.

'I'm guessing you would like Brock and Camilla to accompany you also?' the professor guessed.

Did this professor read minds or what?

'I called their parents and they should be waiting for you in Viridian City by tomorrow morning.' The professor continued.

Of course, my mum would want to spend a few hours with me before I have to leave on adventure, but I wouldn't matter I would be leaving tomorrow not today.

I felt a little bad for abandoning her so soon, she did have a Mr Mime, but that didn't make much difference.

So now what was I supposed to do with the rest of today? It gad only passed lunch. I had like an hour or so ago. I mean I could go home and say hello to my mum, but that would make me feel guilty and I would blurt out that I am going on another adventure.

I could spend this time with Leaf, she was definitely a friend and the only one I had that was still in Pallet Town. She was someone I could trust in and talk to whenever, I liked spending time with her, getting to know all about her after all these years. When I spoke with Leaf there were no silences, no awkwardness between us, we were almost in complete, total sync. We acted like siblings. I know that she and I hadn't gotten to know each other that much, but she and I clicked as soon as I recognised her again.

Now she preferred to live in Pallet, but she was working with the professor. It would definitely help with her dream. I didn't know what her dream was, but she wanted to know everything about every single Pokémon.

I turned to Pikachu.

'Have an idea what we should do for the rest of the day buddy?' I asked him.

Pikachu, unfortunately, didn't have an answer, instead of answering he jumped off my shoulder and headed into the living room of the professors lab.

I knew that I needed to tell my mum about this quest that the professor had given me, but Pikachu had a different idea.

The professor and Leaf made their way to the living room. I followed suite, as soon as I entered I noticed Pikachu was curled up on one of the teal couches.

The living room was like a living room, but the floor was tiled with beige and white tiles. There was green oval rug in the centre of the room. On the rug were three teal couches, two of which were occupied. There were two three-seated couches and one two-seated the middle of the rug was a dark brown coffee table with Pokéball coasters on it. In each corner of the room was a glass cabinet with various things that were probably to do with Pokémon research.

I sat on the same couch that Pikachu was curled up on. I laid my head back and let out an exasperated sigh.

The professor continued through another door, however Leaf decided to sit on the sofa that was opposite to the one I sat upon.

'Leaf,' I started. 'If you want to stay here and help the professor with his research and findings I won't stop you. I told her.

She just looked at me like I was crazy.

'What? No!' She replied with as much certainty as the sun would set tonight. 'I want to travel with you, I miss the sense of adventure, travelling, seeing all the different places, experiencing all the things you experienced. Never knowing what's around the corner.' She added. 'How am I supposed to stay her when this whole town reminds me of him?' She asked.

I saw Leaf was trembling, I knew she couldn't talk about him, they had a special kind of friendship.

I was confused about why she wanted to stay here, she saw my expression and began to elaborate.

'Learning from the professor is great and all, but he can only teach me so much. There is so much he can't teach me, he can't tell me about the orange archipelago, it wouldn't be the same as experiencing it. He can't tell me about the Pokémon there, what if there are different varieties?' Leaf asked.

I knew that Leaf's question was rhetorical, so I stayed quiet, but she did have a point. She was asking why she would like to stay here when there was more out there.

'It's like asking you to stay here and only train the Pokémon that the professor has.' Leaf added turning it onto me, she was putting me in her shoes.

I now fully understood her point, only training Pokémon that the professor gave me, how would I grow as a trainer, no-one would know about how good or bad I was. I would feel pathetic, known as a trainer that gets given Pokémon. The only Pokémon that had been given to me was Squirtle, he was now a Blastoise. There was no way I could stay here, the reason I went on a journey was different to Leaf's, but we both had the same intentions with why we travelled. We both travelled to gain experience. Leaf travelled to learn more about Pokémon, whereas I travelled for the sense of adventure and the many Pokémon that I could encounter and catch, train and grow with them.

Leaf looked at me like she was expecting an answer, unfortunately I didn't have one.

'I guess I see your point.' I replied.

'Good, how could any of us stay here, cooped up in a town?' She asked rhetorically. 'We both have a sense of adventure.' She continued.

I knew this request the professor gave me would be good for Leaf, it would keep her mind off of Liam, they both had a special kind of friendship, one I couldn't understand, then when Liam fell and left no-one could pick up the pieces he left Leaf in, but she had always tried to stay strong, she wasn't doing a bad job, she seemed strong on the outside, but everyone knew on the inside she was breaking down.

But it was hard for Liam, he did lose on the first hurdle, he lost against Lorelei, the first member of the elite four.

I needed to help Leaf forget about him, by doing something, but I had no idea what, she was so much smarter than I was in the aspect of Pokémon. She had learnt so much more than I could have in a shorter time than I had.

I had travelled through the whole region, but I was unsure if Leaf had, she did travel with Liam, but I was unsure of who was leading, knowing that Liam would have bowed to any wishes that Leaf had even after he saved her from the Silph. Co it was probably Leaf who led the way around the region, but still let Liam compete in the Gym battles he had yet to face.

I remembered that the professor may have a few books that I yet to read, but I really wasn't in the mood for reading books, plus I needed to see my mother before I headed out on this journey, I needed to tell her that I was planning to go on a journey, not really a journey, it was more of a request, but I was more than happy to help.

The only problem with that was that Pikachu was still asleep on the couch.

I chuckled at him, he always slept weird wherever he slept, I remembered the time he slept on my face. I woke up and Pikachu was asleep over my eyes. I chuckled at that while shaking my head.

'Leaf.' The professor said poking his head through the door.

Both Leaf and I shot our heads up toward the professor.

'I could use your help for a moment.' The professor said.

Leaf got up and made her way to the room that the professor was in.

I laid back on the couch before looking at the GS ball, it was definitely mysterious especially since no-one was able to open it. I wondered what professor Ivy could do that professor Oak couldn't. He was the greatest Pokémon professor in my opinion, but to be fair he was the only Pokémon professor I knew. I wonder if the Silph. Co knew anything about this particular Pokéball, but maybe it wasn't produced in Kanto, maybe it was made in another region. I knew the Silph. Co was responsible for most if not all things that were Pokémon related. I mean they did produce the master ball. A Pokéball that catches any Pokémon without failure. I had yet to test it, but to be perfectly honest I didn't really want to use it, since it was the only master ball in existence, and out of everyone in the whole of Kanto it was given to me. I felt very privileged to take on board the most powerful Pokéball ever. I also felt privileged to take on the GS ball, it was kind of like the master ball, one of a kind, also very mysterious and cool looking.

Pikachu crawled onto my lap stretching out.

He looked at the GS ball and sniffed it.

'Any idea, bud?' I asked.

Normally a Pokémon would be able to sense what was in a Pokéball, but, this Pokéball was extremely mysterious, no-one knew much about it.

Pikachu just shook his head.

I put the Pokéball back in my bag and headed back home.

As soon as I exited the lab I saw the sun was starting to set. Today had gone slow, well the afternoon did, the morning went too fast, and now Rachel had gone and I may never see her again.

I reached my house a few minutes later. I entered the house and saw Mr Mime was sweeping the kitchen. As soon as I entered he popped on the kettle. Maybe he was taught to make tea.

I went to sit opposite my mother who was watching TV, she was leaning forward, occasionally sipping from a mug in her hands.

She hadn't greeted me yet, she was too interested in the program that was on TV, I didn't find it that interesting, so instead I just laid back into the sofa.

A few moments later Mr Mime appeared in front of me with a steaming mug of tea.

'Thanks.' I said taking the tea from it. As soon as he was back in the kitchen I placed it on the table. I didn't mean for it to make a sound, but it did which alerted my mother of my presence.

She turned to me carefully placing her mug on the table.

'Jordan, you're back.' She said stating the obvious.

I nodded in confirmation of her statement.

'I thought you would still be with Leaf.' My mother said.

I thought I should tell that it's getting late, plus I hadn't been home that long.

'Um…mum, it's starting to get dark.' I told her.

She looked at me confused.

'I thought…'

'That never stopped you before.' My mother interrupted.

Now it was my turn to look confused.

'Huh?' I asked.

My mother turned her whole body towards me, the TV was now completely forgotten. Now I knew this was going to be a long speech, either that or it would be a long conversation.

'That never stopped you.' My mother repeated.

'Huh?' I again asked, I was still confused.

'It turning late has never stopped you staying out late before, a few times you stayed around Rachel's house without telling me, I got worried sick the first few times so I called Rachel's mother, apparently you just fell asleep the first few times you stayed there.' My mother started. I was about to tell her that Leaf didn't live in Pallet, but my mother continued. 'What is there to stop you hanging out with Leaf tonight?' She asked rhetorically. 'Let me guess,' she started. 'You want to go out on another adventure.' My mother more or less stated than asked.

It wasn't very hard to know how or why my mum knew this.

'You're definitely your father's child.' She stated. 'He couldn't resist adventure either.'

I felt guilty for leaving my mother and I couldn't fool my mother by trying to disguise my guilt.

Instead of looking at me with sadness she smiled at me.

I looked at her confused once again.

'I made you a new set of clothes.' She told me. 'They are on the dining table.'

I looked in the opposite direction to the TV and sure enough on the dining table was a pile of new clothes.

How did I miss that when I walked past? I was looking at Mr Mime, so that could have been why.

I made a mental note to take those up tonight before I went to bed.

I was about to take my first sip of tea to check the temperature, but I was interrupted by a knock at our door. My mum turned back to the TV, so I set my tea down and went to open the door.

I opened the door and Leaf was standing there, she looked out of breath.

'Leaf?' I asked. 'Did you run here?' I asked.

She just nodded.

'I have a question.' She said.

She had a question? I had a few for her.

'And you needed to run here? Could you not have walked?' I asked rhetorically. 'You've already told me you are going on the journey with me.' I continued. 'You couldn't have asked me tomorrow, or later today?' I asked.

'It is important.' She said as she started to catch her breath.

'So important you had to run here?' I asked.

'Hey,' she shot a finger at me. 'You jumped off of the lost tower in Lavender town.' She accused me.

I opened my mouth, but closed it again as I couldn't think of anything to say. I was rash and did stupid things, but I was saving my best friend.

'So what did you have to tell me that was so important you had to run here?' I asked in a mocking tone.

Leaf invited herself in and sat at the dining table.

'Hello Mr Mime.' Leaf greeted Mr Mime.

It held up a hand in response before it continued sweeping.

'Leaf, it's good to see you, dear.' My mother said entering the dining room.

'You too Mrs Hale.' Leaf responded.

My mother placed her mug of finished tea in the sink and went back to the living room.

I closed the door with hesitance. I was unsure what was happening.

This had been a big day.

'Okay, Jordan. I am challenging you to a Pokémon battle.' Leaf said.

'Now?' I asked in surprise.

Leaf chuckled at my outburst.

'No, not now.' She said. 'Tomorrow morning, before Brock and Camilla get here.' She said.

'I thought we were meeting them in Viridian tomorrow.' I said. I sat down at the dining table next to Leaf, I didn't know how long this conversation was going to be. I didn't want to stand the whole way through it.

'We were, but I talked to them before I came here and they both agreed to come to Pallet, they wanted us to start our journey together.' Leaf told me.

That made sense. I started my journey through Kanto with Rachel, it's just we met a few companions on our way, before I met Brock and Camilla had no idea that either of them existed. And now that I had become friends with them it made sense for us to start our second journey together.

'So you want to battle me tomorrow morning, when we are refreshed from today's events? I asked.

Leaf nodded.

'But on my terms which I will explain tomorrow.' Leaf said.

I didn't care what Leaf's terms were she wanted an unofficial Pokémon battle with me. She was the last person in the world who I thought would ask me to battle them. I had battled every other friend of mine. I didn't think Leaf was the battling person.

'Leaf, can I ask you a question?' I asked.

'Besides that one?' She asked.

I realized what she meant.

'Yes.' I chuckled. 'Besides that one.' Leaf didn't respond, so I took that as a sign to continue. 'Why do you want a battle with me?' I asked.

'You are one of the greatest Pokémon trainers ever. I want to see how it feels to battle such an amazing trainer like you.' She said.

I know I shouldn't be surprised, but whenever someone called me an amazing trainer, if it was stranger or someone I had met before, or even a good friend of mine I always doubted myself, everyone thought me of a higher stature than I did of myself. I know it was bad, but I was still trying to find myself as a trainer and until then I would never think of myself as an amazing trainer, just an above average one. I also knew that once I told people, that they would attack me with an onslaught of my achievements in the Kanto region.

I nodded at Leaf's reason, it was as good as any, and I would normally jump at a chance to battle, and against Leaf was no exception.

'Well, if we are going to battle tomorrow then we need the sleep. I shall see you tomorrow bright and early, Jordan.' Leaf said standing up.

'Goodnight Leaf.' I said.

When she opened the door I saw that it was almost night. The sun had almost completely set.

As soon as the door closed I picked up my new set of clothes and took them upstairs, Pikachu was hot on my trail.

I got into bed, not bothering to check my clothes. I would be able to observe them tomorrow.

I fell asleep and had a weird dream.

 _I was standing a large room, there was a massive spiral staircase not that far in front of me. Behind the spiral staircase was a giant window, outside it looked like there was a storm._

 _I saw Camilla and Rachel were crouched down next to me. Both of them looked on the verge of crying._

 _I was confused, but didn't have time to process confusion before I saw what was next._

 _There were many Pokémon surrounding what looked like a battle field which I was at the centre of._

 _Every single Pokémon had a duplicate which closely resembled them, but they looked a little different, like a slight colour differentiation, or maybe a slightly larger tail or something. It was only slight, but I could tell the clones from the real ones._

 _My Pikachu sitting standing next to me with his paws on my hand._

 _I felt so much guilt in me, but I didn't know why._

 _Something big must have happened._

 _I slowly stood up and faced a creature that I did not remember. I knew it was a Pokémon, it was floating in front of the spiral staircase. For some reason I felt like I needed to protect every single person behind me._

 _Pikachu jumped onto my shoulder also feeling like he needed to protect the people behind me. He also felt like he needed to protect me._

 _My mind flashed as I looked behind me. Camilla was directly behind me. It felt like I needed to protect her from this figure more than anyone else, but I had no idea why._

 _When I looked behind to her this figure now had a name and I knew why I was standing in a protective position. I also know why I felt guilty earlier._

 _This floating figure was Mewtwo._

 _I was standing in front of everyone because I wasn't afraid to die for the people behind me. I would fight Mewtwo to the death if it would save every person behind me._

 _I was directly in front of Camilla because she seemed like she had been affected the most and she had an aura kind of power like me, she had an excessive power that was connected to the brain. I couldn't allow Mewtwo to manipulate her powers._

 _I felt guilty earlier because Rachel gave me an earful, the reason being because I died. And now I wasn't afraid to die again._

' _You are a foolish human.' Mewtwo stated._

 _Yeah, I thought. I was, I just killed myself for a stupid reason and I got moaned at because I died and came back, as if my day couldn't get worse, it had already been rotten and the storm outside didn't really help._

' _Everyone was worried for you. Even the Pokémon, every clone included.' Mewtwo told me._

 _I wanted to say "Yeah well I did just die." But I kept my mouth shut._

 _At this moment I only had one thought, keep my friends and every Pokémon safe from this Pokémon._

 _I looked around me not letting my guard down._

 _Every Pokémon along with their clones looked concerned for me, I was…maybe fine was not the right word to use, but I saw a lot of mixed negative emotions from the humans behind me due to my stupidity._

 _'I made clones that would not act so weak, but upon your death they all wept.' Mewtwo said as if this baffled him. 'As they did act weak does this also make me weak?' He asked. I didn't think this was aimed at me, but I needed to answer to make him feel better, although I couldn't really say he was strong as an individual, because no-one is better than everyone else, so I came up with a compromised answer._

 _'Nobody's perfect. Nobody's the same.' I told him._

 _This was probably not what he wanted to hear, but it's what he needed to hear, he needed to hear what everyone needed to know, that you are the best at something, but not the best at everything._

 _Mewtwo cocked his head towards me inquisitively. Maybe he wondered what would make me say that, especially since I had acted so recklessly before._

 _I had acted foolish, that is definitely not perfect, I thought I knew what was best for everyone, apparently I was not good at meeting the needs of others. That made me imperfect which is what life was for everyone, it's just some think they have it worse than others, but you take life how you are given it and adjust to the choices of others._

 _'I am foolish, reckless, that is a trait, my friends have to live with that. How?' I started. 'Ask them that.'_

 _I was curious and it seemed so was Mewtwo because he floated a few inches closer._

 _I began to wonder if he was going to kill me on purpose this time._

 _'You have a few more negative traits than I do.' I continued. 'We're still here, we didn't even try to escape.' I told him. Maybe these were the words that were going to kill me, but that thought didn't faze me. I wasn't afraid of death, not since I've had a few near-death experiences and one death in my life already. Mewtwo didn't act violent towards so maybe he didn't want to kill me yet._

 _'You try to convince me that not everyone is bad.' He started. 'Your speech did nothing to waver my conclusion, your foolishness otherwise rendered me speechless.' He finished._

 _It was a shame I had to die to make Mewtwo see sense. That was normally how I showed people who didn't like me how far I was willing to go, sure I had never died before, but I had been extremely close a few times._

 _'I have never met anyone who would risk their life for other humans or Pokémon.' He stated._

 _My flaw, everyone else is more important than me, human and Pokémon alike. I think that everyone is more important because I am loyal to people I meet, I have to protect everyone. I feel a huge weight of responsibility on my shoulders and that weight will never leave._

 _'I will take my leave now, along with the clones, but don't worry, none of you will remember any of this.' Mewtwo said before he floated up, followed by his clones._

 _I wanted to call out to Mewtwo, I couldn't forget this. I didn't want to forget this._

 _A huge white light enveloped us a few seconds later._

I woke up with jolt.

Pikachu woke up with a jolt and his cheeks sparked in a defensive way as if something was going to attack.

I looked around my dark room but neither saw or heard nothing.

A few seconds there was a knock at my door.

I looked at my clock, the time showed 4:41 in the morning.

I groaned and made my way downstairs, who the heck wakes up at around half four to knock on someone's door, nothing was this important.

Not even a hospital appointment. I'm sorry, but I'm a bit grouchy for a few minutes after I wake up.

I opened the door and before I could process anything I was enveloped in a crushing hug that sent me to the floor.

'Ouch.' I complained before anything else happened.

'Sorry.' I heard a familiar voice giggle.

There was no mistaking that voice.

'Camilla.' I said. 'What are you doing here?' I asked.

'Idiot.' I heard a second familiar voice say.

I got up and saw Leaf.

I looked down at my Pyjama's and instantly blushed from embarrassment.

'Nice PJ's, Jordan.' Brock commented following Leaf through the door.

I blushed again.

'Green isn't really your colour though.' Leaf added.

'Guys, do you know what the time is?' I asked.

'Early.' Leaf said. 'I did say I wanted you up early tomorrow, yesterday.' Leaf reminded me.

'You also said bright.' I added. 'It is almost five in the morning.' I continued.

'You know sometimes I hate your aura.' Camilla said out of the blue.

'What have I done now?' I asked.

'Mewtwo.' Brock replied.

'You all had the same dream?' I asked.

Maybe there were a few things that were so important that they could not wait until the sun rose.

'Yes.' They chorused.

'Oops.' I managed.

'Oops?' Camilla asked. 'Oops is an understatement Jordan.'

'Camilla, please. I had an earful from Rachel as soon as I woke from death, I don't need another one right now.'

Camilla looked at me with a look that said later, I didn't really want later to come.

Maybe something worse or as bad would come along before later so she could moan at me about that, I would prefer that.

'Jordan, can you get dressed? We are going to go to the professor's lab.' Leaf said.

I ran upstairs and quickly chucked on the new clothes my mum gave me, I would check them later. I was in a rush right now. I picked up my bag and slung it over my shoulder before Pikachu jumped onto my shoulder. I then strapped my Pokéball belt around my waist.

I made my way downstairs and followed my friends out my front door into the dark early hours of the morning.

 **And after a few months of writers block (something I am so sorry about) major family issues a whole lot of other excuses that you probably don't care about, I finally have chapter two up. Yay! Go me… So sorry about the wait, chapter 3 shouldn't take that long to get up. I have just started to write it now, but it won't take over two months, it should take less than one month, about two weeks at the most.**

 **I still have poll up of who Jordan should catch in the Orange islands out of Lapras and Snorlax.**

 **Thank you to all my reviews and to my followers.**

 **I will see you in just under two weeks time with chapter 3.**

 **Chapter Three: A Zeppelin of Rockets**


	3. A Zeppelin of Rockets

**Disclaimer: Pokémon is not owned by me.**

A Zeppelin of Rockets

I didn't know where my friends and I were headed but we seemed to be following Leaf.

'Hey, Leaf, why are we going to the professor's lab?' I asked.

'We need to talk.' Camilla stated falling in line at the back with me.

I understood that the dream was the same, or at least similar, we all remembered Mewtwo, but I didn't know how we all had the same dream, maybe the professor could help us with understanding, that was if he was up.

I didn't know if the dream was my aura or Camilla's ESP, it could have been both, but four people rarely ever have the same dream the same night at the same time, so this was pretty weird. I normally knew when my aura was active, I couldn't control it, but I normally knew when it was active, I saw things in a sharper detail.

I knew my dad had aura, but he had learnt to control it unlike me, but no-one else knew if anyone had ESP like Camilla, someone must have, she couldn't be the only one. Her parents gave no indication when we saw them, they also didn't like the idea of Camilla travelling with me because of my dad. I don't know how they knew so much about my dad. I didn't dwell on that, it wasn't important.

'Why didn't we talk at my house?' I asked.

'Your mum was still asleep.' Leaf replied as if it was obvious.

I knew that, although we didn't want to wake her up it would be the same at the professor's lab, we wouldn't want to wake him, I didn't know why we couldn't speak outside on the hill that Rachel and I shared on sunny days.

We reached the steps to the professor's lab, Leaf ran up them. Brock, Camilla and I walked, it was too early for me to run. I woke up like just over ten minutes ago.

I stepped in and found that Leaf was talking with the professor, so maybe he was up.

'…well Jordan has aura.' Leaf said as we reached them both. 'Brock, Camilla and I thought that might be the reason.' Leaf explained.

The professor nodded to us as we reached them.

'Maybe we should take this somewhere else?' The professor suggested speaking with all of us.

I agreed silently, I would not like to stand up while all this was going on.

We all walked into the living room area.

Brock, Camilla, Leaf and I sat on one of the sofas, while the professor sat on the opposite one to ours.

Both Camilla's Pikachu and mine fell asleep on our laps respectively.

'So, do you know why you are all here?' The professor asked.

'A dream, or memory?' I guessed.

'Can you explain to me about it?' The professor asked.

'After Jordan's eighth Gym battle we were all invited to an island by a Pokémon known as Mewtwo, he despised humans, actually hated them because he had been mistreated by them more than once, this gave him the conclusion that all humans were bad and that they only used Pokémon as tools.' Leaf started.

'You all recall this?' The professor asked to which we all nodded, this was not part of the dream I had, but I knew everything about those events now.

'Mewtwo then asked us to battle, but instead he captured all our Pokémon in black Pokéball's…' Brock said.

'A new Pokéball?' The professor interrupted.

'We don't think so, this Pokémon, Mewtwo was not registered in the Pokédex. He had created these Pokéball's himself.' I told the professor before I gestured for Brock to continue.

'The Pokéball's went down a chute while others were being captured, all of us tried returning our Pokémon to their Pokéball's, but the black Pokéball's encapsulated our Pokéball's, so we were helpless. Jordan grabbed onto the Pokéball that his Pikachu was captured in before it was taken down the chute, Jordan with it.' Brock summarised.

'And what was down there?' The professor asked.

It was now my turn to speak.

'I saw an array of complex machines, they had wires connecting to tubes with a kind on green slimy liquid in them, in some of these tubes they had Pokémon in them, I found out these were clones. Mewtwo was creating a clone army, he hated humans and every Pokémon that sided with humans was ones he was going to destroy, he created clones to destroy our Pokémon, his experiment was to show that clones were all powerful and superior. Mewtwo was the clone of Mew and that's why he was called Mewtwo.' I explained.

'So, he was jealous of being created from another Pokémon?' The professor asked.

I nodded in confirmation. 'As soon as I let all the Pokémon out I walked up to where everyone was with them to show Mewtwo that we cannot be pushed around. I would not have him hurt any of our Pokémon or my friends.' I added.

'And then what happened?' The professor then asked.

'Jordan's attempt was futile, Mewtwo already had all the Pokémon cloned. He ordered his Pokémon to attack ours, no Pokémon had no choice to attack back. Then Mewtwo had all his attention on us. Jordan tried to reason with Mewtwo saying that not all people or Pokémon were bad, just because he had a bad experience doesn't mean that they are bad, but Mewtwo was not persuaded. Every person that made it to the island followed Jordan because we told him about his achievements. Then he went and did something stupid and killed himself by putting himself between Mewtwo's attack and Mew's.'

'He looks pretty much alive now.' The professor countered.

'I somehow came back to life.' I explained.

'Was that the end of it?' The professor asked.

'Not quite.' Brock started. 'Once Jordan came back to life he stood in front of all of us and threatened Mewtwo that he would protect us.'

Camilla, Leaf and I blushed.

'Liam, stood in front of me to protect me from Mewtwo.' Leaf managed.

I was proud of her, she said a whole sentence without breaking down, she looked very close, but otherwise she was okay.

'Jordan, put me behind him.' Camilla blushed and so did I. 'But he made sure that everyone was behind him.

'Why did he protect you most?' The professor asked curiously.

Camilla blushed, so I answered instead.

'I didn't want Mewtwo to detect her ESP and use it against her.' I replied.

'She has ESP?' The professor asked.

Brock and Leaf looked at me and Camilla in surprise.

'What is ESP?' Leaf asked.

'ESP is Extrasensory perception, or a sixth sense, it means that Camilla can gain things from the mind, so she can see something that others would not be able in her mind, like if she could control it she could see the books in my lab area from here, that's the same with the other senses, so she could feel, taste, smell, see and hear things that other people could not. Also in her dreams she could recall things forgotten or she could see things that may happen.' The professor explained.

'Just like I did.' I said.

'You what?' The professor asked.

'On our journey I had dreams about the future, I had dreams about the event with Mewtwo and other things that seem real, but they may just be dreams.' I replied.

'You might need to tell your dad when you see him next, Riley also might have some insights on this.' The professor told me.

I knew that I had to tell my dad, I couldn't really tell him while he was here we had to catch up, plus I forgot about it completely. I would definitely tell him the next time I talked to him.

'Did you know you had ESP?' Leaf asked Camilla.

'I was told about it from my mum before I went on my journey, she said she knew someone who could help me, but I don't know who it is, she said she would tell me when I was a little older, she hasn't told me yet. So, my ESP can't be that bad.'

'If it does get bad then we'll call your mum up to ask who it is.' I said.

I didn't want the ESP to effect Camilla in any way.

'Anyway, After Jordan came back alive and he stood in front of all of us to protect us Mewtwo spoke a bit more before leaving us and wiping our minds, so that is why we didn't know until now.' Brock finished the story.

'I think I know why you forgot.' Professor Oak said.

He didn't continue so I pressed him.

'And?' I asked.

'You say Mewtwo was a Pokémon and there was no data or recording from him in the Pokédex?' He asked. 'Well maybe he was a psychic Pokémon and he wiped your minds, as for why you remember it could have been caused by either Camilla's ESP or Jordan's Aura, but I can't be sure. You will have to talk to an expert, you never know there could be someone somewhere in the Orange islands.' The professor said.

Mewtwo being a psychic Pokémon would make sense. It would explain why we forgot the event and then why we remembered.

'Now, I think you should all get some sleep before you head off later, you will need all your energy, your ride to the Orange islands will be in Viridian at eleven 'o' clock later today.' The professor told us. 'There are beds upstairs so you can sleep for a bit.' The professor continued.

All four of us stood up in unison, I wasn't sure that I would get to sleep, as I had woken up and it would be hard for me to sleep now.

We all headed upstairs and picked a bed each. I laid down before closing my eyes and trying to get some sleep. I must have been sleep deprived as I fell asleep a few minutes later.

I woke up and realized that I didn't dream of anything. That was a change from earlier that night.

I could see the light from outside trying to escape inside through the closed curtains.

I sat up slowly and looked around for the clock, but couldn't find one along the walls.

I got up from out of bed, now I took a look at the new clothes my mother made me. I had a dark grey short-sleeved t-shirt with black linings at the waist, the end of the arms and the neck. I had blue jeans, they weren't as faded as my last ones. I also had a red hoodie jacket with a white line on each side where the zip was. My trainers were black with white soles. I put the cap that Rachel gave to o on my birthday.

I slipped on my trainers and strapped on my Pokéball belt before descending the stairs with Pikachu trailing behind me.

I found a clock in the living room and found out it was nine 'o' clock. I had a dreamless sleep for just under five hours.

The ride will be in Viridian in two hours.

I noticed that no-one else was up, this wasn't really new for me, normally I was the first up, but I didn't know with Leaf. I hadn't travelled with her much so I didn't know when she normally got up.

The professor might be up, but I didn't know where he was, if he was.

Camilla and Leaf were next to come downstairs.

My Pikachu immediately got up to meet Camilla's.

'Are your Pikachu always like that?' Leaf asked.

'Most of the time.' I replied

'You're always up first.' Camilla commented.

I nodded. I didn't know why, but everyone woke up after me. Normally Rachel was the one to wake up after me, Camilla normally woke up around that time also, Brock occasionally woke up before them, his times were always varied.

'Aren't I normally?' I asked rhetorically.

Camilla took her usual place beside me, whereas Leaf sat on the sofa that was opposite the one we sat on.

She looked at us in an analysing glare which instantly made me uncomfortable.

'Leaf? What are you doing?' I asked.

'I'm confused.' She replied.

'Why?' Camilla asked.

'Why do you two always sit next to each other?' She asked.

'What do you mean?' Camilla asked.

'Every morning since I set off on this journey-when I've been in the same Pokémon centre as you-Camilla you have sat next to Jordan, you even do it now.' Leaf said.

'Force of habit.' I suggested.

Leaf sat back, she sighed, obviously she wasn't satisfied with my answer, but she took it nevertheless.

Brock came into the room a few seconds later.

'I've got it!' Leaf exclaimed.

This shocked Brock so much he almost fell backwards.

Camilla and I looked up in shock at Leaf.

The professor came in a few seconds later.

'What is it?' The professor asked.

Leaf blushed and shook her head in embarrassment.

'Don't worry.' Leaf replied.

It can't have been that important, she didn't seem keen to share it, Brock was in the room and then the professor came in. Maybe Leaf was now reluctant to share.

'Well since you are all here, I have all the information you need between here and Valencia island which is where professor Ivy is.' The professor started. 'The mode of transport is a Zeppelin and it will arrive in Vermillion around eleven 'o' clock. It will take you straight to Valencia Island, once you land you will need to travel for a few hours before reaching professor Ivy's lab to deliver the GS ball.' The professor told us.

It seemed pretty easy, it didn't sound too difficult and as soon as we had delivered the GS ball then we would come back. Not much of an adventure, but I had accepted this because the professor was unable to.

I was glad I was going with my friends though, this would be so boring alone. If I was to go on another adventure then I wondered how it would differ from my previous one, especially since Rachel wasn't on this journey with me.

Leaf was a great friend, she wasn't like Rachel, but she was as easy to talk to as Rachel was and we were such great friends when we were younger, it seems nothing changed in the years that Leaf had lived in Lavender town.

Leaf shot up ready to go before any of us were.

'What are we waiting for?' She asked rhetorically.

I didn't object, I stood up and almost immediately Pikachu bounded towards me.

'You ready bud?' I asked as soon as he was perched upon my shoulder.

'Pika!' He replied in confirmation.

I guessed he was eager as I was to go on another adventure. Like trainer, like Pokémon, I guess.

Camilla's Pikachu followed my Pikachu's example by jumping onto Camilla's shoulder before Camilla's could even stand up.

'You seem ready.' Camilla said a little surprised, he Pikachu was never the ambitious type, it just seemed to follow Camilla everywhere with the same goal in mind as her, maybe now Camilla's dream had ended her Pikachu had learnt to enjoy the sense of adventure more, or my Pikachu had something to do with it.

Brock was the last to get up.

We all made our way out of the professor's lab, he went back to his research as we all followed Leaf out of the lab.

She ran down the steps, I think she was even more ambitious than I was, sure it was exiting, I bet she was hyped about meeting professor Ivy, and learning about all the Pokémon in the Orange islands Archipelago.

'You seem eager Leaf.' Camilla commented.

'I might learn more about Pokémon from a completely different professor.' Leaf replied not turning around, hopping down the steps away from the professor's lab.

She stopped at the bottom and waited for us to reach her.

I realized Brock hadn't said a thing this morning.

'You okay Brock?' I asked turning behind me.

'Huh, yeah.' He replied. 'Just deep in thought.' He replied.

I gave the girls a look, they both understood and walked ahead while I stayed behind to talk to Brock.

'What's up Brocko?' I asked.

I was concerned, Brock wasn't normally this quiet, he was always cheerful and had helpful insights to anything that we didn't know.

He sighed before replying, this clearly bothered him in a big way.

'I know you wouldn't understand, but it's been almost a whole year since I've seen my siblings, they look and act completely different, it was hard for me to adapt. Forrest is so much more independent and now he is willing to help dad. He was happy to see me, but he along with my other siblings seem to have gone their own way, in some sense. I did provide for all of them before my father returned and now they seem to be more independent. It's hard for me because I always cared for them and for me to see them growing up, I am sad, but happy that they all have their own opinions now. It's harder for me as I spent a year away from them and now to see them a year after I left, a year older, it's just a completely different atmosphere.' Brock explained.

He was right, I didn't understand how he felt. I never had any siblings, it was different with me. But I understood what he meant. When I arrived in my house yesterday it didn't feel like my house, I felt like a stranger in it. It wasn't the same as what Brock felt, but I understood how the atmosphere felt.

'Do you miss it?' I asked.

That caught him off guard.

'Miss what? Being with my family?' He asked. 'Yeah, I do, but I'm discovering myself, doing what I want to do.' He replied. 'And going on a journey with you around Kanto, that was the greatest thing I have ever done. I would never have dreamed of something like that, being on an adventure with no way to know what will happen next, that's how I like it, plus its better with friends.' Brock replied.

I was more ambitious about adventure as Brock, but he definitely summed up how great a journey was and that it was better to travel with others than just by yourself.

We entered route one together, the girls were still chatting amongst themselves, but I was enjoying my talk with Brock, we never normally got to do this, a guy talk. I'm not sure Liam would be like this, he wasn't the talking type.

'Sorry I'm dumping all of this on you, Jordan.' Brock apologised.

'Hey.' I shot back. 'You need someone to talk to, would you rather speak to the girls?' I asked rhetorically. 'Besides if I had any worries, I'd dump them all on you.' I joked.

Brock shook his head at my childishness.

'Thanks, Jordan.' He said.

'Anytime.' I replied.

Brock forced a smile before he raced ahead of me and squeezed in between the girls as we reached the halfway point of route 1.

I was thankful that Brock felt better, this whole journey with him looking all gloomy would not be the way I would like to spend this journey.

Camilla slowed down until I was in pace with her.

'Problem?' I asked.

'They're talking "technical" Pokémon stuff.' Camilla replied using air quotations.

'Ah.' I breathed.

'You excited about this journey?' Camilla asked me.

I looked at her like she was crazy.

'Sorry,' she apologized. 'Silly question.' She added.

Camilla was just making sure that I wasn't backing down, but truthfully it wasn't a silly question, all we were doing was taking a mysterious Pokéball to a professor in another region then coming straight back.

We may spend a few days with the professor to learn all we could from her, and we could explore other islands because they may have different species, or Pokémon we had never seen before.

'Not silly.' I replied. 'It's a good question, we are going to one place for one reason and then coming straight back.' I said.

'I'm sure we'll find something to do there.' Camilla said.

We neared the end of route one and we were about to catch our ride to Valencia island, but there was something I wanted to do before we caught or ride, this was important to me. I knew it had been almost one whole day, but I couldn't wait any longer.

As soon as we entered I ran.

I must have surprised my friends, but I needed to get there before our ride was here.

'Hey!' Leaf exclaimed.

'Jordan?' Brock asked.

It seemed that Camilla had the same idea as I looked next to me and sure enough she was keeping up with me.

We reached the Château and stopped.

We looked at each other before making our way through the doors.

'Hello and welcome…' Jared started.

'Hello Jared.' I said.

'Duchess Camilla.' Jared bowed.

So, Camilla still had her title.

'Jared.' Camilla said giving a small curtsey.

'What brings you here?' He asked.

'Please, Jared.' We heard Nita say, she walked through one of the back doors with Tara right behind her.

Jared bowed as Nita came toward us.

All four of us bowed.

I knew Brock was hesitant, he was debating whether to bow, or declare his undying love for Nita. I'm glad he chose the first option.

'How can I help ya all?' Nita asked.

'Is Rachel here?' Camilla asked.

'I'm sorry pet, she left this morning with me sisters.'

I was really looking forward to seeing Rachel and now I wouldn't be able to.

'Oh. Okay, we were hoping we could see her before she left.' Camilla said.

'I'm sorry again pet.' Nita once again apologised. 'Congratulations on ya tournament, Jordan.' Nita congratulated me. 'For ya first one I'd say that was pretta impressive.'

I didn't feel like it was, but I nodded in thanks.

'Sorry to have taken your time, Miss Nita.' Leaf apologised.

'Not to worry, pet.' Nita said.

We all walked out of the Château and saw a zeppelin next to the Pokémon centre.

It was a few feet off the ground, but I was pretty sure it was for us.

We weren't in any hurry, and I was sure the people in the zeppelin were not either, so we walked to the zeppelin.

I had never been in a zeppelin, so I wondered how the ride would differ from anything else.

There was a rope ladder that led into the zeppelin, I was the first one to climb it, it was quite difficult, but I eventually made it into the zeppelin.

I looked around and saw I was in a huge room the size of the zeppelin.

Metal framework was everywhere with catwalks and steel wires keeping the frame together.

I froze as I saw who was in this zeppelin. It was filled with team Rocket grunts.

What happened to them disbanding? Did Giovanni not keep his promise? Would I have to beat him again?

Camilla gasped as she entered, realizing that team Rocket was in the zeppelin.

'A familiar face.' I heard a voice I instantly recognised.

I turned to my right and saw Archer.

'Archer.' I growled.

'Come now, Jordan. I am trying to be civil with you.' He said.

'What happened to disbanding team rocket?' I asked in the same tone as before.

'Giovanni ordered us to go our separate ways, we did for a while, but I thought that this was strange behaviour for the boss so, I got some new recruits and they followed me into setting up team Rocket to gain the bosses attention.'

I was confused.

'Gain the bosses attention?' I asked.

'You see, I believe that the boss is in hiding, if we attract enough attention he will come to aid us again, and make us bigger and stronger to conquer the whole world.' Archer explained.

'Okay one more thing.' I started. 'New recruits?' I asked.

All the grunts are new recruits. I have Petrel and Proton working for me, I got rid of Ariana, she could not be trusted, and those two are the only ones I trust, neither of them like you, but you won't need to worry about them.' Archer told me.

So, Archer was trying to get Giovanni's attention and no-one but the executives/admins were the same, except for Ariana.

'I've got an idea.' Archer started. He clicked and I realised that my friends were then trapped by team Rocket grunts.

I was getting tired of this.

'I'll battle you for their freedom.' I said to Archer.

He looked happy as if he wanted me to say that.

'That's exactly what I wanted.' Archer said.

'You got this buddy?' I asked.

He jumped in front of me sparking his cheeks.

'Weezing.' Archer said.

He had the exact same Pokémon.

'A one-on-one, if you win we will let you and your friends go, if not, well I will give you and your friends to Petrel and Proton, and trust me, they do not like you at all' Arche said naming the terms.

I was fine with them.

A one on one would be easy.

'Poison gas.' Archer started.

I had to avoid this, I was rusty I hadn't had a battle in a while.

'Agility.' I said.

Pikachu ran around trying to avoid the poison gas attack.

'Double team.' I said.

Pikachu broke off into loads of copies.

Now there was a chance that Pikachu may or may not get poisoned.

I had to think of something. I couldn't risk Pikachu getting poisoned. I had to save my friends, what was I to do now?

A thought came to me, it was definitely not the best idea, and Pikachu may get poisoned, but it would put Archer in a tight spot, hopefully reverse the roles.

'Pikachu, use quick attack. Then hold on to Weezing.'

'Dodge.' Archer called, but it was too late.

Weezing had already been hit, but Pikachu held on to Weezing to escape the poisonous gas.

My plan had worked, now I just had to wait for the poisonous gas disperse.

'Toxic.' Archer called.

This is something I had not expected.

I didn't know that Archers Weezing would have two poison status moves, but if Pikachu could just hang on a little longer.

The toxic attack took effect and Pikachu cringed in pain, this made it hold tighter.

'You okay bud?' I asked Pikachu.

He just nodded, I knew the pain would get worse for him, that meant we had to wrap this match up before it got too bad.

'Use thunderbolt.'

Pikachu charged up and while still clinging onto Weezing released a thunderbolt hat hit Weezing causing it to cry out in pain, in that moment Pikachu jumped off and landed on the ground, its cheeks were sparking with electricity.

I hope this next move worked, it was a long shot and always was, but it normally worked. I hope it wouldn't fail me now.

'Weezing, sludge bomb.'

Weezing sent out a purple blob, toward Pikachu.

'Pikachu dodge and use thunder.'

Pikachu dodged easily, as it was quicker, I had used agility earlier, it jumped and summoned all of its power and created a black cloud directly over Weezing.

Pikachu shot a huge thunder attack directly down toward Weezing.

Weezing fell to the ground and I saw static electricity causing around it. I had paralysed it and now it was grounded. Weezing hadn't fainted and I was so sure that the thunder would faint it.

Pikachu staggered as the poisoning got worse. I needed to end this battle, and now.

'Weezing, use belch.'

At the same time Archer called out that attack I called out an attack for Pikachu.

'Quick attack.'

I had not seen what belch did, and I didn't fancy seeing it today, it sounded like it was powerful, but since Pikachu was quicker Weezing never got to use the move and was hit with Pikachu's quick attack.

Weezing fainted and I knew I had won.

I went to pick up Pikachu.

Archer returned Weezing.

He clicked and my friends were released.

'Well done Jordan, you definitely are a trainer we all need to watch out for, but with our next confrontation, I will not be so nice.' Archer said.

Nice? I thought. Archer was nice? He was a member of team Rocket, nice was not a word that screamed out when you hear the name "Team Rocket".

Archer whistled and every member of Team Rocket came down, he pushed a big button and red flashing lights went around sounding an alarm.

'This ship is going down, and I hope we don't see each-other again.'

With that Archer jumped out, he was followed by all the Team Rocket runts. I saw Petrel and Proton I the mix, the purple hair of Petrel and the blue hair of Proton were unmistakeable.

I locked out of the Zeppelin and every single one of them had a parachute.

The Zeppelin gave way to the left and thankfully I fell in.

'This Zeppelin is going down.' Brock said.

We all stayed put on the ground hoping that the crash landing wouldn't be bad, but I could feel the air resistance start to rip away the Zeppelins fabric coating, we would be able to see where we crashed and where we were going to crash.

We broke through the clouds as I made my way toward the opening.

I saw an island below us, so much green on that island, but there was a town on the island next to the sea. Thankfully we headed toward the trees, so not as much damage as landing on solid ground, we would land in the trees.

I was thinking that death was imminent, but…nope there was no good way to see that.

There wasn't much chance of survival, sur I had died already, but my friends hadn't.

'Fearow, go.' Camilla said, not her usual way of sending out a Pokémon, but this was a crisis.

'Golbat, you too.' Brock called.

Brock held on o Golbat's feet.

'Get on.' Camilla said to Leaf and I as she hopped on Fearow.

Both Pokémon let their wings spread and the air pushed them upwards a little before letting them glide.

We were too close to the trees, but the Zeppelin crashed a few feet from where we were, but the Pokémon glided and landed inside a forest now filled with frightened wild Pokémon.

I was just glad that the Zeppelin crashing hadn't caused a fire.

Now my friends and I were stuck in a forest with no clue as to which way we should head.

The frightened Pokémon ran past us, so we followed them, but at a slower pace.

 **This is the third chapter up, so much quicker than the last one. My life as calmed down for now, thank goodness. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter and it is up exactly a week after. My updates should be weekly, but I can't guarantee that. There will always be less than two weeks between every update until this arc is finished, this Arc will have around twenty chapters, so a lot shorter, but the next chapter the group meets professor Ivy and her Pokémon sanctuary. Then the chapter after that will be the introduction of a new character. So, the poll that's on my profile will be closing as soon as chapter 5 is up, so get voting. As always, the next chapter should be up in a week's time. Thanks to all my reviewer's followers and favourites, and thanks to my readers also.**

 **Chapter four: B-rock and Ivy**


	4. B-rock and Ivy

**Disclaimer: Pokémon? What's that? Oh right, something I do not own.**

B-rock and Ivy

As we kept walking through the vegetation we saw a few Pokémon with shocked expressions, many were small, but a few were a little bigger.

Then they gave us either confused or frightened expressions.

Many of them fled at the sight of us.

'Pika? My Pikachu asked.

'They probably don't have any good experiences with humans.' I told him. 'Some Pokémon don't have the relationship with humans like you and I do.' I explained.

How someone could be so cruel to Pokémon was beyond me, but I had learnt by two different beings that humans can be cruel to Pokémon and some Pokémon can be cruel to humans.

I couldn't believe that we had been in a Zeppelin full of team Rocket, probably the whole of team Rocket, and Archer had used our battle to distract me.

While no-one could fly a Zeppelin from our group the Zeppelin crashed, and we had no idea where we were or how we were supposed to get to wherever professor Ivy was.

Camilla was at the front of the line, followed by Leaf, Brock and I was at the back, no-one spoke, but we all had a lot to think about.

For example: did professor Oak know that the Zeppelin was full of team Rocket? What were the chances of us going on a Zeppelin full of team Rocket? Where were we? And the most important: where are we headed?

Normally Brock would know where we were, but this was not his home region and we could have crashed way off course, we may not even be in the orange islands archipelago. That would be the worst thing ever, but for now we would just walk in a straight line, until we either came to a path, a town or other sort of similar civilization.

When we reached one or the other we knew we would be close to some sort of information on our whereabouts.

'Are you guys okay?' I asked, realizing what they had just been through.

They all stopped and turned to look at me.

'Are we okay?' Leaf asked. 'It's not like we hadn't experienced that before.' Leaf told me.

'Exactly, how many times have I been held by team Rocket grunts?' Brock asked rhetorically.

'We should be asking you, team Rocket showing up affects you more than it does us.' Camilla told me.

I didn't really want to be reminded that my mum and Giovanni once where together, but it had happened now and there was nothing I could do about it.

'But are you guys…' I stopped as I started hearing another voice.

'There you go.' The voice said. It was female. And it was close.

A few seconds later a Rattata ran past us and continued before it dashed into a bush.

My friends and I continued before we saw a girl.

She was around my age, she may have been a little younger.

She had brown hair that spiked in all directions below her ears, she had a red flower in her hair behind her right ear. She had dark eyes and she wore glasses, she had an orange shirt with black what looked like tufts of hair prints, so it looked like a Hawaiian shirt, she had green shorts on.

She looked up at us from stroking an Eevee.

'Hello.' She started. 'Who are you?' She asked.

'I am Jordan Hale.' I said. 'this is my Pikachu.' Pikachu waved.

'I am Camilla Foster.' Camilla said. 'And this is my Pikachu.' Her Pikachu also waved.

'My name is Brock Harrison.' Brock introduced himself, I realised this was the first time I had heard Brocks last name.

'And my name is Leaf Green.' Leaf told this girl.

'Hello, why are you here?' She asked.

'Professor Oak sent us.' I replied simply.'

'He told us to deliver something to professor Ivy.' Brock said.

'Oh, goodness. Please follow me.' This girl said. In a heartbeat she was up and quickly ran away from us, so we ran trying to stay with her, we caught within a few seconds, she wasn't running very fast, but she did startle us at how abruptly she stood and started running.

There were many Pokémon around, they were all playing, some ran up to the girl as soon as they saw her, some shied away from us while others were much more comfortable and ran around us or brushed up against our legs, these Pokémon were obviously really comfortable with humans, a lot more than the ones inside the woods.

'Miss Ivy!' The girl called.

A girl a few years older than me was crouching down in front of an Oddish that looked sad.

This girl had deep purple hair, her fringe parted in the middle, but it reached her eyebrows, her hair then fell behind her ears at her shoulders. She had brown eyes that looked curious and a little worn out. She was wearing a necklace, the bead was orange and red. She was wearing a blue one-piece-what looked like a bathing suit.

That made sense since she was near water a lot. Being on an island, that was probably a good idea.

She was definitely making the most of being outside, she was showing her legs, but the look was quite weird, especially since the other thing she wore ruined the look. She wore a professor's lab coat which was open. If she wasn't wearing the lab coat, she would have been mistaken for a beach lover.

She looked up to the girl, taking her attention off of Oddish for a few seconds.

She then glanced at us before turning her attention back on the girl.

'These people claim they have been sent here by professor Oak.' The girl informed the professor.

The girl in the lab coat turned to Oddish, saying a few words that were inaudible to us before ushering the Oddish away with encouragement.

The girl then stood up and came to us. I now felt the authority who was maybe only a few years-if that-older than me. Authority from now two professors.

'You must be Jordan Hale?' the girl said holding out her hand.

I shook it with no hesitation, she seemed friendly enough.

'I'm professor Ivy, a friend of professor Oaks.' She added.

I nodded as she released my hand.

'And these, must be your friends, Leaf, Camilla and Brock?' The professor asked giving each of them a handshake respectively.

They all nodded.

'And, you've already met one of my assistants. This is Faith.'

Faith gave us a wave, but headed around a corner and disappeared.

'Why don't we go inside before we get down to business?' Professor Ivy stated.

She was being very courteous and hospitable, a girl only a year or so older than me with so much experience and responsibilities.

I'm sure Leaf would be like this in a year or so. Leaf was so well known on almost everything to do with Pokémon. It wouldn't take much more for her to know more than most professors.

The professor led us around the corner that Faith disappeared around and a few feet in front of us was a yellow bungalow.

It definitely looked cosy, it looked nothing like professor Oaks lab.

'This is where I do my research.' The professor said.

The green door was slightly ajar, so we just followed the professor in, but what we were met with surprised me.

The place was a total mess, there was stuff everywhere. How could the professor live like this? No wonder she spent most of her time outside. If my room was like this my mum would ground me from ever going on adventure.

The washing up was piled inside the sink and over the counters, left overs for food were everywhere, there were clothes and papers strewn across the floor, I couldn't find a seat to sit in. I could hardly see the floor. Did no-one bother to clean?

There were three girls in the kitchen, all three were reading books.

My friends and I had disgusted looks on our faces.

'I apologize for the mess.' The professor said looking at our expressions.

"Apologize"? "mess"? I think this place would need more than apology to be fixed. Mess was a complete understatement.

'It's not a problem.' Brock said. 'I'll help clean up.'

Camilla, Leaf and I looked at him mystified.

'Brock, it's fine, don't worry about it.' The professor said.

'Nonsense.' Brock replied, he wouldn't take no for an answer.

Sure, Brock was great at taking care of us loads, but some things couldn't be fixed, and this was one of those things, but Brock opened his bag and took out a white apron which he strapped on and started in the kitchen.

If I was Brock I wouldn't know where to start.

I was confused. Brock wasn't like this, though he did take care of his younger siblings for a few years, so maybe this wasn't that much difference.

'Brock don't you want to hear what the professor has to say?' I asked him as he started clearing the sides in the kitchen working around the professor's assistants.

'I'll be listening.' He assured us.

I shook my head and walked further in.

'So, what do you specialize in, professor?' Leaf asked.

'Regional variant physiological differences.' The professor said. 'I take not and try and understand why some Pokémon look different from the rest, why and how their differences distinguish them.' Professor Ivy explained.

'There are Pokémon that look different from others?' Camilla asked.

'Yes, that Oddish out there had lighter green stands on its head.' The professor said.

I didn't realize that, it just looked like a normal Oddish to me.

'So, small variations are what you research?' Leaf asked.

'No, not at all. Actually, I have a Butterfree with a darker wing with different patterns on it. I have a Vileplume with a green head and red spots instead of a pink head with yellow spots. Plus a few Rattata have a bit of a grey tinge to their original purple hair. There are loads of different variations, I don't know all of them, but I record them. I find different variations fascinating.' The professor told us.

I was surprised at the variations she said she had found.

Leaf looked like she had won a prize for best professor assistant in the world.

I thought Leaf was the best assistant that any professor could have, but I didn't want to disappoint any of professor Ivy's assistants. I stayed quiet for their sake.

Brock had now started on the washing up.

'Wow.' Camilla said.

Wow was right, but maybe Leaf could have thought of a better word.

'Before we go back could you maybe show me some of the variants?' Leaf asked.

'I'm sure we could find some.' The professor promised Leaf.

Leaf looked like she could explode or squeal from excitement at any moment and it would probably scare me half to death, but Leaf loved learning everything about Pokémon, so I couldn't really blame her.

'I could show you a few papers I have written on variations if you would like?' the professor asked.

'I would love to.' Leaf answered.

I was in the middle of two Pokémon lovers, how was I going to stop this.

'Leaf. We are here for a different reason.' Camilla said. 'Can we focus?' Camilla asked.

'Quite right.' Professor Ivy said. 'We'll save this to later. Down to the matter.' The professor continued. 'You brought the GS ball?' The professor asked.

I swung my bag round so it was in front of me. I opened it at took out the GS ball and gave it to the professor.

'Thank you, Jordan.' I nodded taking a step back after she took it from me.

She inspected it.

'Charity.' The professor said.

A girl who looked like Faith, but had darker brown hair looked up from her book and made her way toward the professor.

She had a light pink shirt on with darker pink flowers with a yellow middle, her shorts were red though.

She took the GS ball from the professor.

'Take it to my study for a moment.' The professor said.

'Sure, Miss Ivy.' The girl said before making her way through a door.

She came back a few seconds later.

'I'll research about it soon and then I'll tell professor Oak about any of my findings, you guys can go back if you like, you don't have to stay here and wait, but before you go I guess you want to see some regional variants?' the professor asked.

'Yes please.' Leaf replied keeping her excitement toned down, she was acting like a little girl on Christmas day.

We all followed professor Ivy out of the house.

Leaf and she engaged in conversation. I didn't want to pay much attention, so instead I stayed back and walked with Camilla.

'Camilla. I meant to ask you, what are your dreams now?' I asked.

'Huh?' she replied, like my question had caught her off guard.

'You tried the battle Château and got the title of Duchess, so what do you want to do now?' I asked.

'At the moment?' She asked rhetorically. 'I don't have a dream, I am having fun travelling and experiencing what I encounter along the way.' She said. 'I know you have a dream and Brock has his and Leaf also has hers, but at the moment I'm still searching, see I tried to conquer a dream I had since I was little and to fall at the last hurdle hurt, so now I'm using this time to see if I can find something else while on this journey.' Camilla continued.

I understood her, sure she could still pursue her dream, but Kanto was the only region besides one other that had a battle Château, so ravelling to a region with no Château's would mean that Camilla may have to chase a different dream.

And who knows she may find something that she liked better than the battle Château.

'Wow!' We heard Leaf exclaim.

We looked up and walking through the bushes was an Ivysaur, the bud on its back looked a little darker shade of pink with a sort of purple tinge to it.

Pokémon variations were definitely cool, and I was sure glad that every professor studied in a different area of Pokémon.

Professor Oak studied in recording data about every Pokémon and he used the Pokédex to do it, and professor Ivy studied in Pokémon's variations in different climates and places. This truly was fascinating.

'I wish I had an Ivysaur like that.' Leaf continued.

'Ah, yes, but think of this, if every Ivysaur you saw was like that wouldn't you prefer the one you have now?' Professor Ivy asked.

That made sense, sure some Pokémon here were different, but if I saw many of these I may have forgotten what the native Pokémon looked like from Kanto, and I may have thought the native Pokémon from Kanto were variations instead of the ones here in the orange islands archipelago.

My thoughts drifted as Leaf and the professor continued conversing.

I was worried as to what would happen now, my friends and I would just go straight back to Kanto and there would be nothing else to do, sure there were other regions, but I didn't know where they were or how to get there.

Besides what if I decided that didn't want to battle Gyms when I got back, this first region proved challenging and then I fell at the Indigo plateau, I want to make the people in Pallet town proud, I was sure of that much. I still wanted little kids to look up to me and say, "when I grow up, I want to be like Jordan Hale". That was one of my dreams. My other dream was to become a Pokémon master, and to be able to become one, I needed to beat a Pokémon league champion.

It was unlikely that I wouldn't want to continue beating Gyms to challenge the Pokémon leagues. I had the best journey last year, and battling all the Gyms made it so much better.

I remembered that my dad started his journey at twelve, I was ten. The first year my dad had beaten the Pokémon league, so even if I didn't beat one until I was twelve I was still glad I set out when I did. I may have never met Camilla, Brock or Leaf until I was my dad's age if I set out the same age he did. I knew my dad started his journey on his birthday, I found that strange, but still, if he wanted to venture on that day who would stop him.

What if Leaf wanted to stay here and learn more about Pokémon from this professor? I wouldn't stop her, but she wasn't the type of person to stay in one place for too long, she had moved around he whole life. She lived in Pallet till she was seven, then she moved from Lavender to Pallet to learn from professor Oak when she was eleven, and now she may want to move to Valencia island for a while, but she'd come straight back to Pallet town, she wouldn't stay away from her true home for too long.

Leaf was the type of person that would become a travelling researcher, learning all she could before moving on to other places to learn more or learn a different subject. I didn't know how Leaf could hold all that information, but she just yearned for knowledge, something I knew that I would never be able to do.

Camilla wasn't as set on something as the rest of us were, she had just lost her dream to Rachel, but she was now looking for another dream, I was sure she would find one in time. I mean it took Rachel a day or two, she just up and travelled with me to Viridian with no dream in mind, whereas I had mine for a few years, I don't know how long it took Leaf to get her dream, maybe a few days. Brock had probably had the dream of becoming a Pokémon breeder for a few years.

There's no telling how long it will take Camilla, but I'm sure she would keep travelling with me and my friends until she found her dream and maybe even after she found what her new dream was.

Brock's actions on Valencia island had surprised me, professor Ivy being around the same age as Brock and much like Nurse Joy and a few more girls that Brock advanced upon. I thought this would be the same with professor Ivy, but Brock kept his cool and didn't advance in any way. I found this strange. I also found out that him offering to clean up the whole house that professor Ivy and he assistants lived in was weird. I mean as soon as he leaves wouldn't it be messed up again, it was a futile task. It would be better if he stayed here and helped keep the house clean, but Brock was the type of person to travel and experience different Pokémon in different environments.

I knew that Camilla and I were definitely not staying here, she and I would continue on our journey, or just go straight back to Kanto.

'…Jordan would love that.' Leaf exclaimed.

I shot my head up at that.

'That's a great idea.' Camilla agreed.

I had not paid attention to this conversation.

'Sorry.' I apologised. 'Wat are we talking about?' I asked.

'Professor Ivy said there is a Pokémon league here in the orange islands archipelago.' Leaf said.

'Really?' I asked.

This was great news: a Pokémon league, in this region, this would give me a reason to stay in the orange islands for a while longer.

'Yeah, the orange islands have a system like the Kanto region, but it only has four Gyms instead of the one, so you have to beat all the Gyms to enter the Pokémon league, and there is only one member of the Pokémon league here.' Camilla told me. She must have been listening in on the conversation that Leaf was having with the professor.

Only four Gyms, that was half the amount in Kanto, but I guess the orange archipelago wasn't large enough to host more than four Gyms, I didn't mind that there were only a few Gyms, I now had a new dream, I want to compete in this regions league and see if I can beat this regions champion.

Hopefully he wasn't as strong or powerful as Lance, or maybe I would be able to gain more experience battling these Gyms and become stronger in able to defeat this regions champion.

'That sounds cool.' I replied.

'Just think, Jordan, now you have a reason to stay in this place a little longer.' Leaf said.

I wonder what Brock would think of this and would Leaf still want to travel, or would she want to stay here and learn from professor Ivy.

'Maybe we should go and see how Brock is doing?' Professor Ivy suggested.

We all agreed without a word and followed her heading back to the house.

What I saw on the way back kind of amazed me which made the professor and Leaf sot confused looks at me. Obviously, I had been thinking too much to pay attention to the different forms of Pokémon. I hadn't realized most of them.

We eventually got back to the house and as soon as we entered I stopped short, thankfully I was the last one in.

'Wow.' I mouthed.

'Woah.' Professor Ivy breathed.

The whole place was clean, there was not any mess anywhere, sure the couches which I hadn't noticed before were full of clean washing piles, brock was ironing the last of the clothes, there were un-ironed clothing on his right shoulder. I saw the carpet was a deep green, the couches were cream, the kitchen was shining, the sink looked new, the counter tops looked they were bought this morning, the now white tiled floor was shining, you could probably see your reflection in it.

The professor rushed to her study.

My friends and I stared at Brock in complete awe for a second.

He just continued to iron and fold clothes.

'Brock, how did you manage this?' Professor Ivy asked as soon as she came back.

'I have taken care of my own family for years, this is nothing, there are only four of you, I had to take care of more than four siblings and they are all younger than me.' Brock explained.

'But this mess has been around for about a year.' Professor Ivy replied.

It was hard to believe that now, when we first entered this house I would have agreed completely, but there wasn't any mess anywhere. I could see everything. I could see the floor, that is one thing I was happy for.

My friends and I slowly recovered from Brocks amazingness.

'Brock?' I asked.

'You've cleared a year's mess in just over an hour?' Professor Ivy asked, in as much awe as my friends and I were in not too long ago.

Brock truly was absolutely amazing.

The professor's assistants came in and each took a pile of washing before shooting off and taking the washing wherever it needed to go.

He had the professor's assistants helping, before all three were in the kitchen each reading a book. Now all three were doing chores.

My friends and I sat down on the couches.

Brock finished the last few items of clothing and laid then on the back of the couch as the seat placing was preoccupied by us.

The professors three assistants came back in.

They took the last of the clothing as Brock went into the kitchen and started to wipe down the already clean sides.

'So, Jordan what do you think about the Orange islands league?' The professor asked me?

'It sounds great, perfect for me.' I said.

I was really excited about this now. This would be a great opportunity for me, another chance to compete in a league, not so long ago I was at the entrance to my first elite four-member battle.

Now I was starting a journey to take place in a new Pokémon league.

'It sounds like a good idea.' Brock said coming up to us with a mixing bowl and whisk.

'Uh, Brock, what are you making?' Leaf asked.

'My speciality cake, strawberry shortcake.'

I'd never known Brock to make cakes, just meals. Yet here he was announcing that he had a speciality cake, maybe he made it where his family were. He never shared it with us.

'Who knows, you might achieve your dream of becoming a Pokémon master.'

Brock was right, this would be the first step, beating a Pokémon league was the first step to become a Pokémon master, you also had to help other trainers who were not as experienced as you, you must be willing to take on every challenge and accept every battle, even if it seemed silly. I admired a few people in the Kanto region who were once below me and who had now equalled me or even surpassed me.

Rachel had no experience and no dream, but now she was a Chatelaine and she was extremely powerful, she was definitely a better trainer than I was.

Alan Harris, he was an extremely powerful trainer, he lost against Lance the Pokémon league champion. Our first battle got interrupted, but in our second battle he lost, but only because my aura flared up, if my aura didn't flare up I would have probably lost.

Jason green, shortly before my sixth Gym battle he asked if he could battle me, I declined first, he didn't seem confident enough, but then I met him again at the entrance to the Pokémon league and he seemed like a completely different person, he was so much more confident, not in just himself, but in the way he looked, acted and talked, he had come a long way since Fuchsia.

Then there was Liam Oak. He was one I did not want to think about, but we were rivals, ever since we were younger. Neither of us would accept defeat. My first ever battle was with Liam and I lost, the second battle I won in Cerulean, and he changed his way towards battling, on our third meeting he met up with Leaf and started to travel with her. When he and I met at the Pokémon league we had both come a long way, neither of us wanted to lose. The battle with Liam was one of the best battles I had ever had before, it tested both our strengths and showed each other how far we had come since that first day.

I didn't want to think about Liam, but how would I get closure without thinking about him. Leaf would also need closure, but I'd wait a while. I did not want to disturb her now. I needed to ask her and Brock something. I was thinking about asking Camilla too as there was a little doubt that she would also stay here.

I stood up and backed away to the door.

'Um, guys, before we take this any further are any of you thinking of staying here for a while?' I asked.

All the professor's assistants returned.

Camilla stood up without any hesitation.

'I will come with you, I yearn for the thrill of adventure.' She told me.

Leaf looked at professor Ivy then back at me before standing up.

'Before we started this adventure, I said I was going to ravel with you, Jordan. My answer has not changed.' Leaf said.

This was not unexpected, but I didn't expect it either, I was fifty, fifty with Leaf.

Brock was already standing up, so there was no need for him to move.

'I think I might stay here for a while.' He said. 'You know, help around the house, plus I could learn a lot as a Pokémon breeder here.' Brock said.

I expected this from him. That was the moment when I knew he was truly infatuated by professor Ivy, but he didn't show it lie he did with nurse Joy and he also didn't show it like he did with Suzy. This was different, but I didn't know if it was good or bad different.

I knew Brock would be okay and I knew why he preferred to stay here, he missed his siblings and helping around the house, this was almost the same as that, it was definitely a satisfying substitute for him missing home.

So, now Brock was staying here for a while, my only travelling companions would be Camilla and Leaf, but I was fine with that, I could definitely have some conversations with them, all three of us were great friends.

'I'll call Samuel for you and tell him that you successfully delivered the GS ball to me and I will find out what I can about it. I will also tell him that you and your friends are having an adventure in the archipelago with you challenging the Gyms.' Professor Ivy told me.

It made sense that all the professors use each other's first names, but I always call them by their title then their last name. It's how I was always introduced to them.

'Thank you, professor.' I replied.

Camilla came to stand next to me.

Leaf looked at me and Camilla with a quizzical look as if she was trying to figure something out.

'What?' I asked.

Leaf shook her head. 'Nothing.' She replied.

'Okay, there will be a boat on this island, a few miles trekking along a footpath and the sailor will take you to the nearest island, just tell him I sent you and he will take you to the next island.' Professor Ivy said.

I was beginning to wonder how we would get off of this island. Now the professor had given us a solution. I was also glad as we would have no idea of where to go.

'Thanks again professor.' I said.

All three of us walked out of the house and followed the footpath to where the boat was said to be.

 **Here is the fourth chapter, it is out a little longer than last time, but I have not had internet for a while, so it's been impossible to update until now. So, Brock has stayed with professor Ivy, just like the anime, but our protagonist is travelling with two people who are not in the anime. As I said a few things will be from the games and other parts the anime, but since this region didn't have a games counterpart a few things will be from the anime.**

 **Anyway, until next time.**

 **Chapter Five: Sketchit Pokémon**


	5. Sketchit Pokemon

**Disclaimer: Just another way to say that Pokémon does not belong to me.**

 **Also, a big thanks to my beta DanielRedDragon for helping me with this chapter.**

Sketchit Pokémon

We found the boat within an hour of following the path.

The sailor was more than happy to take us on a ride to the next island.

It was apparently named Tangelo island, I didn't know how many islands were in the orange archipelago, but I would probably find out sooner or later.

I knew there were four Pokémon Gyms, plus an extra island for the Pokémon league and another island for the professor's lab, so I knew there were at least six, but I remembered reading a book in professor Oaks lab and I saw that there were at least twenty-five islands.

I didn't want to visit all of them, but if Leaf and Camilla wanted to, I wouldn't protest. I knew that Leaf wanted to fill up her Pokédex and learn everything she could about Pokémon. I also knew that Camilla wanted to find a new dream and who knows she might find out in the orange islands archipelago.

While on the boat I decided to let out my Pokémon, it had been a while since I last let them out, they might want some freedom.

Blastoise instantly jumped into the water along with Camilla's Seadra and Leaf's Dewgong.

I forgot what Pokémon Leaf had.

I let out Charizard and Dragonite, so they could fly above the boat. Camilla let out her Fearow, but Leaf didn't have a flying type Pokémon, but she let out three of her other Pokémon. She let out Dodrio, Ivysaur and Hitmonchan.

I let out my Sandslash.

Camilla let out her Wigglytuff.

Camilla didn't let out her Arcanine and Leaf didn't let out her Rapidash, they were both probably good ideas, those Pokémon were too big, and their weight might capsize the sip, and there would be no room for anybody else on the ship.

I was pretty sure the sailor wouldn't appreciate it much either. The sailor seemed more than happy to take us to Tangelo island.

I was a bit sceptical about it, it kind of sounded like there were a lot on Tangela on the island, but that would mean that it wouldn't really be a great island to visit.

'You excited about competing in this regions Pokémon league?' I asked my Pikachu.

'Pika!' He replied with enthusiasm.

He seemed a lot more confident than me, sure there were less Gyms, but maybe that was because they were twice as hard, that meant that I should be nervous. I was. I also remembered how hard the Gyms were in Kanto, if these Gyms were twice as hard I wondered how I would beat these Gyms, if they were all twice as hard as Viridian City's Gym then they would be near impossible.

I was determined to become a Pokémon master, so I had no time to be nervous. I had to think positive and in turn I would come out of each Gym with a positive result.

Pikachu started playing with Cubone, I'm sure Cubone would eventually be able to battle.

I didn't know how long it would be a baby for. We met it in Lavender town and since then it had been a baby, that was almost over half a year ago, it may have been over half a year ago and still Cubone was acting like a baby. I wasn't complaining, but my Dratini had now fully evolved and it hatched from an egg on Cinnabar island where my seventh Gym was and Cubone was rescued before my fourth Gym battle. Sure, it had seen its mother being killed, but Camilla saved it and now she was the Cubone's surrogate mother.

I asked the sailor why the island was called Tangelo, he said it was because of the park, originally there were more Tangela on the island than any other Pokémon, but over the years more Pokémon became frequent, so they didn't want to keep the name of Tangela island, so they slightly changed it and it stuck.

So, my first assumption was correct, from around a hundred years ago at least.

The sailor also told us that there was a Pokémon park on the island that we might find interesting. I'm sure Leaf would more than Camilla or I did, I would like it as there may be some Pokémon that I hadn't seen before.

This wouldn't be the best island as there was only one good feature on this island.

Maybe there was a Pokémon centre on this island though, I may need to sign up for the orange archipelago Pokémon league, just like I did for Kanto.

I didn't know how much the Gyms would differ from the ones in Kanto, or if they would be much different at all. But I knew that there was only a champion and no elite four like the Kanto region. The Kanto regions Pokémon league was called the Indigo league. I wondered if the orange islands Pokémon league had a specific name.

I saw up ahead that we were now reaching an island, that must have been Tangelo island.

I started to return my Pokémon one by one before strapping their Pokéball's to my belt. They had now had some freedom. I knew that once in a while they needed to relax, or else they would always be battle ready, that would make them stiff and unrelaxed.

Camilla and Leaf also returned their Pokémon.

The sailor dropped us off at the dock of Tangelo island before he turned around and headed back to Valencia island.

I saw there were a few boats at the dock, but not many. Most of them were either tied to the dock or had dropped their anchor, this place wasn't really populated, at least not at the dock. I saw a town not far in front of us and saw that it was relatively busier than the dock.

The first thing I wanted to do here was find the Pokémon centre, I wanted to sign up for the orange islands Pokémon league.

'To the Pokémon centre?' Camilla guessed.

It wasn't really something hard to guess, most trainers went to the Pokémon centre as soon as they entered a new town or city.

'To the Pokémon centre.' Leaf agreed.

All three of us walked into town, it wasn't hard to walk through, not like Celadon was when there were hundreds of Pokémon breeders and, Pokémon breeder fanatics, along with the original resident and Pokémon trainers.

I'm so glad we hadn't found another city like that, it would have been terrible. What if we didn't find someone like Suzy in a situation that was like that?

Me and my friends roamed the streets in search of a Pokémon centre, we spent at least an hour looking around the town roaming aimlessly.

No-one had approached us, but I'm pretty sure we looked lost, I felt lost.

There's supposed to be a Pokémon centre in every town and City, right?

'Is there no Pokémon centre in this town?' Leaf asked rhetorically.

'There actually isn't, not in the town.'

My friends looked to where the voice came from.

It was a boy who was a little older than I was. He had a red headband around his forehead, his black hair poked out the top and fell to his cheeks on either side of his face. He had black eyes. He had a green, short-sleeved t-shirt, red shorts and light blue boots. He had a large orange bag pack. He had a pad of paper in his and a pencil.

'It's actually on top of the hill.'

The boy said pointing to the hill on the other side of the town to the docks.

My friends and I looked to the top of the hill, we saw a small white building with a red roof.

'Thankyou.' I said running with my friends behind me.

We rushed to the foot of the hill. The footpath wasn't straight, instead it waved, and the climb wasn't really steep, the hill was like the rolling hills of the landscape I remember in some of professor Oaks books. But this was only one hill.

We reached the summit after a few minutes of walking to climb the hill.

We didn't need to rush now, not since we found out where the Pokémon centre was.

It was starting to get dark as we reached the Pokémon centre, so there might have been a lot of people in the Pokémon centre, we would have to check in for the night. Today had been a very busy day.

I was woken up extremely early this morning-by Leaf- we went to the Professors lab and slept in there after a quick chat with him. We then went to Viridian and went in a Zeppelin which had Team Rocket in it. I battled Archer while my friends were held captive. The Zeppelin then crash landed, thankfully it was on Valencia island, which happened to be the island that professor Ivy lived on. Brock started to clean the inside of the place, while Camilla Leaf and I walked around the forest around the lab, which actually looked like a house on the inside and out. We found different Pokémon varieties. The professor, Camilla and Leaf told me about a Pokémon league here in the Orange Archipelago. The professor told us that a man with a boat would take us to the nearest island which happened to be Tangelo island. Brock decided to stay back and help professor Ivy. I knew he was going to help cook and clean around the house, but the real reason was because he was infatuated by the professor. We arrived on this island and searched around the town for ages looking for the Pokémon centre that was actually on top of this hill.

My friends and I entered the Pokémon centre.

'Hello, how may I help you?' Nurse Joy asked.

'Can we have accommodation for tonight?' I asked.

'Of course.' She replied handing me a key.

My friends and I walked to our room.

The girls picked a bunk, so I was left with the other one.

Pikachu yawned, and as soon as he did he jumped from my shoulder and jumped onto the bed he almost immediately fell asleep.

I got into bed a few minutes later. I just laid there for a second.

I suddenly remembered that I completely forgot that I had to sign up for the Orange league. I pushed that aside now, I would wait until tomorrow, when I was less tired.

I closed my eyes and found myself asleep.

 _It was dark, but I knew that it was still day, it was dark because of the canopy of trees above me._

 _I knew that my friends were behind me, even Brock and Liam, there was also another girl besides Camilla and Leaf, but I didn't recognise her. All six of us slowly walked through this forest following a path which twisted left and right, it also turned sharp corners._

 _We were walking with caution, I knew there was something dangerous in this forest, but couldn't remember what._

 _I didn't know why I was in front. I couldn't remember why I was first._

 _It was normally me, either me or Liam, but I think Liam was protecting Leaf, he had done recently, since I last saw him, plus Leaf had forgiven him, she did ages ago, almost after Liam came back, but Liam still felt guilty._

 _Brock was almost directly behind me, he wasn't one to battle so if it came to that Liam and I would jump in, so would Camilla._

 _Recently Camilla had become more interested in battling, she had grown more confident after her bump in the road. Liam and I had helped her gain her confidence back. She even had a rival, just like I had in Liam. Camilla was next to me, she looked as worried as I did, but she put on a brave face and gave me a small smile._

 _The other girl looked a bit more confident than the rest of us. Why wasn't she in front? Did she follow me or Liam? I wasn't sure, but she was close to Brock, but not as close at Leaf was to Liam._

 _Leaf didn't look too concerned, curious was a better word, she was very curious especially when it was something to do with Pokémon, she wanted to learn everything she could._

 _There was a high-pitched chirp, sort of like a cry of happiness, it sounded like a calm note of music._

 _That was the signal, my friends and I started to run toward the direction of where the sound came from._

 _We came to a fork in the road, but before I could suggest splitting up, the sound came again._

 _We turned left and headed through a thinning of trees before it opened up again._

 _I could still see the light trying to filter into the forest to give us more light, but the trees remained persistent and would not waver._

 _The path then forked again, but instead of splitting up like I would have suggested last time I saw that it was lighter down one of the paths, that was definitely the right way to go._

 _My friends and I walked down one of the paths, it then opened up into a large place, it was definitely lighter here than any other place in the forest, but the light was shining down on a small shrine. It was wooden. It had four white legs that rose it up to the height of my shin. Then it was a large box that went up to my neck. On two sides of the shine it had what looked like shutter blinds, but they were closed. The roof was like a house, it was red and tiled, but it was also definitely wood. I saw a small hole that a ball could be placed in._

' _Jordan, the GS ball.' Camilla told me._

 _I looked at my hand and realized that I had been holding the GS ball this whole time. I didn't remember getting it back from professor Ivy, but somehow, I now had it._

 _I placed the GS ball where it fit perfectly._

 _I half expected something to happen when I stepped back. But nothing did._

 _I started to grab the GS ball, but the shutters opened on the side of the shrine and a green light poured out blinding all of us. I heard that cry again before I started to shake._

It turned out that the shaking came from Camilla.

'Hey, Jordan, morning.' She said.

'How long have you been up?' I asked sitting up and rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

Camilla sat down on the bed.

'Just long enough to get dressed, Leaf is already waiting in the lobby for us.' Camilla told me.

She looked at me sad expression and I looked at hers.

'Aura dream?' She asked.

'I think so.' I replied.

'Same kind of dream?' I asked.

She nodded in agreement.

I didn't mind having these dreams, the sort I had tonight, sure there were bad ones, but I didn't mind ones that weren't bad in any way, sure it was dark, but we were in a forest.

'Where was yours?' I asked.

'We boarded a hot air balloon after running away from a few people. Two people seemed to help us. And they took us up in the hot air balloon. I saw the town it was modernized, but looked a little medieval, it was magnificent from in the air.' Camilla started,

It didn't seem so bad, but it wasn't like mine.

'Then there was a huge sweep of wind that knocked the balloons basket around. One of the sides fell open and I was swept in that direction, but you grabbed my hand and yelled my name in shock before I could fall out. I was hanging on under the basket as you tried to pull me in, then I woke up.'

Okay maybe Camilla's was bit more sinister than mine was.

'You didn't have a dream like that because of my aura, because my dream was different.' I told Camilla.

'My ESP caused that dream?' She asked.

Could you feel in that dream, smell, hear and see from your eyes, or was it looking at you?' I asked.

'I could see, feel, smell and hear everything.' Camilla replied.

'It must be your ESP then.' I told her.

'Mine was six of us. You, me, Brock, Leaf, Liam and a girl I did not recognize.' I started.

Camilla looked confused already, but that wasn't the confusing part.

'We were in a forest, so it was a little dark, but the sun did filter through the trees so there was some light. All six of us walked through this forest. We heard a shrill cry and followed the direction it came in, until we came to a sort of shrine.' I continued.

'In the middle of a forest?' Camilla asked.

I nodded. 'There were shutters on each side and a place where a ball could go. You told me about the GS ball, which at the time was in my hand.'

Camilla looked confused again.

'I put the GS ball there and stepped back, nothing happened for a second, but then the shutters opened and sent out a blinding green light. That's when I woke up.' I finished.

Camilla looked like she was pondering over these two dreams.

'It seems like these dreams may become more frequent, more confusing and even more sinister, but we'll just have to wait, if they get any worse for either of us we need to contact your uncle,' Camilla decided.

I agreed with her. I would have called for Camilla's dream, but she didn't seem too affected by it, not as much as mine did. Her dreams also didn't seem as bad as mine were, hers did include me and her and normally when my dreams included me and her more than anyone else then it was serious.

Camilla seemed like she was still positive.

She got up and made her way out of the room with her Pikachu hot on her heels.

Maybe she talked to Leaf about it. I'm sure Leaf would have been able to help Camilla, plus girls talked to each other about almost, if not everything. I found that out after travelling with two of them for almost a whole year.

As soon as Camilla left I leapt out of bed which startled Pikachu who was now fighting his way out from under my covers.

I quickly got dressed. I finished as soon as Pikachu escaped.

He glared at me with a look that said "really?"

'Sorry, bud.' I apologized. 'You coming?' I asked gesturing to my shoulder as I slung my bag over my shoulder.

He crossed his arms as a look of disappointment in me.

'Suit yourself.' I said, strapping my Pokéball belt around my waist.

Pikachu jumped on my shoulder as I opened the door.

I chuckled to myself. I knew he wouldn't stay in here by himself.

I made it into the lobby and sat opposite Leaf next to Camilla.

'I've got it now!' Leaf exclaimed a bit too loud.

Everyone in the Pokémon centre looked toward our table in shock.

Leaf blushed from embarrassment.

As soon as everyone went back to their conversations and forgot about Leaf's sudden outburst, Camilla and I both turned to her.

'What have you got?' Camilla whispered.

'I know why you two always sit next to each other.' Leaf told us.

'Really?' I asked sarcastically.

'Yes, really.' Leaf said back in the same tone. 'You like each other.'

Just then before anything else could happen the doors opened and three boys a little older than us came in whooping.

'Haha, that stupid Pokémon.' One of the boys said.

'And now it's all alone.' Another boy said.

Thank goodness nurse Joy was busy with other Pokémon trainers or else she would not have liked these kinds of people. I didn't either and what they were saying was getting me quite aggravated.

'And it thinks we'll come back to help it find its family, some Pokémon are so naïve.' The third boy said.

That was it, that's what pushed me over the edge.

I stood up clearly angry.

Camilla and Leaf looked up at me in shock.

The boys saw me stand up abruptly.

The first one had a black ripped sleeves leather jacket, he had a midnight blue vest and black jeans on, his hair was honey blond and just a little longer than a buzz-cut.

The second boy had the same jacket and jeans, but he had a dark green vest and his hair was spiked up and white.

The third boy also wore the same jacket and same jeans, his vest was dark purple and he had short black hair with a small purple Mohawk.

The first boy came up to me with his two accomplices behind him.

He was taller than me and he looked down at me, but this didn't intimidate me.

I was full of adrenaline and was too angry to be intimidated.

'What's your problem boy?' This guy asked me with the same tone Lt. Surge gave me when I first met him, when he called me baby.

'How could you do that?' I asked incredulously.

'Stupid Pokémon deserve, what they get.' This boy replied as if it was a broken toy.

'Just like your little yellow rat, it's stupid because it's with a weak trainer.'

Pikachu perked up at this from the table and glared at the boy.

Pikachu's cheeks sparked, it was definitely annoyed at how insulting the boys were being.

'Come on I'll show you.' The boy said grabbing me by the collar and taking me out of the Pokémon centre.

Camilla and Leaf had no option but to follow me.

In front of the Pokémon centre, like most, was a battlefield.

'Stay here.' The first boy said dropping me in one of the trainer boxes, already on the other side was one of this guy's accomplices.

'I'm going to battle your rat, with my rat.' The guy with black and purple hair said.

I hated how he was saying Pikachu was a rat. He was my best friend and I believed in him.

'I choose Raticate.' The boy said.

Well he wasn't lying about his Pokémon, it definitely was a rat.

'You ready bud?' I asked Pikachu, he sparked his cheeks ready to wipe the floor with these so-called trainers.

'Use hyper fang.' The guy said.

Raticate flew towards Pikachu.

'Double team.' I called.

Less than a second before Raticate connected with Pikachu, there were loads of copies of Pikachu over the field.

Now it would be hard for Raticate to know which one was the right Pikachu.

'Use, foresight.'

This was not good.

Raticate narrowed it eyes and now it would know which Pikachu was the real one.

Now double team would not work.

I had to use something else to make sure that Raticate would not be able to attack Pikachu with high power attacks like hyper fang.

'Pikachu, use agility.' I said.

'Raticate, use agility.' The boy countered.

This was getting ridiculous, his Raticate also had agility, so now I want able to outrun this Raticate, or evade it for too long without wearing Pikachu out.

I had an idea, but I wasn't too sure if it would work.

'Pikachu, use quick attack.'

Pikachu shot with blinding speed toward Raticate and hit it head on.

Raticate skidded back a few feet, but otherwise looked unscathed, like that attack had no effect on it.

It made sense, quick attack was a low power normal type move, but it was quick and could sometimes catch trainers off guard.

Unfortunately, that was not the case. I was running out of ideas to make sure that I showed these trainers that they couldn't mess with me.

It was infuriating, and I didn't want to give these trainers the pleasure of them getting to me.

I thought of using a move that was a lot more effective than quick attack.

'Pikachu, use thunderbolt.'

Pikachu shot a thunderbolt towards Raticate and before Raticate could move it was struck by the electric attack.

It cried out in pain and fell to the floor.

It looked like it was in a lot of pain.

I thought that thunderbolt would have a less extensive effect.

I decided to wrap this one up.

'Pikachu, thunder.' I said.

Thunderclouds formed directly above Raticate before a massive bolt shot down and struck it with so much force that Raticate jolted up in more pain, when it fell again I knew it had fainted.

The boy called back his Pokémon.

'Your stupid rat killed my rat.'

It wasn't dead I thought, just too exhausted to fight any longer.

'My turn.' The boy with white hair said.

'Go Exeggutor.' The second boy said.

This should be a little easier than the Raticate, although it was pretty easy in the end.

I would like to scan Exeggutor, but these boys would probably be too impatient to deal with that, so I didn't bother.

'Let's see your rat keep up with this.' The boy said.

'Double team.' I called out immediately.

Pikachu split into loads of copies, thank goodness Exeggutor cannot learn foresight, or a move that could identify which one was the real Pikachu.

'Agility.' I then called out.

'Let's stop this Exeggutor, use leaf storm.' This boy said.

I knew Leaf storm was a Powerful attack.

'Dig your tail into the ground Pikachu.' I said.

The boys looked at me in confusion.

Pikachu stuck its tail in the ground. Leaf storm hit, but Pikachu didn't move an inch.

Once the storm subsided I called out another attack.

'Quick attack.'

Pikachu rushed with blinding speed toward Exeggutor and pushed Exeggutor a few feet back.

That attack had effected Exeggutor much more than it did Raticate.

But still it wasn't enough, and I knew that Pikachu's electric type attacks wouldn't really work in this situation, and not only that, but Exeggutor was also a psychic as well as a grass.

I had another move I could use, but I didn't know effective it would be.

'Pikachu, use iron tail.'

Pikachu jumped up toward Exeggutor, its tail glowed white before it turned silver. Pikachu spun and its tail smacked Exeggutor across the face.

Exeggutor fell from the force.

Exeggutor tried to get back up, but I wouldn't let it get the chance.

'Pikachu, quick attack.'

Pikachu hit Exeggutor as it tried to get back up. It was forced backdown again.

I realized Pikachu had electric running around it as it used quick attack.

'Jordan!' Leaf called from the side-lines. 'Your Pikachu is trying to learn a new move.'

'What move?' I asked.

'I don't know, I've not seen that move before.' Leaf replied.

That was a first, Leaf was knowledgeable on most Pokémon moves. Although this new move that Pikachu was learning was not one Leaf knew.

It was also strange, Leaf knew that Pikachu was learning a new move, but she was unable to identify what the name of the move was.

I swore I remembered this move, but I couldn't think of where I heard it before. A lot had happened since we started this battle, yesterday had been a long day.

After all this conversing between Leaf and I Exeggutor was able to get back up, I could see it was struggling, but I put on a brave face.

'Exeggutor, use bullet seed.'

Exeggutor opened its mouth and seeds came flying out toward Pikachu.

'Use agility to dodge.' I said.

Pikachu quickly started to use agility to dodge the oncoming seeds that headed for it.

'Use iron tail.'

Pikachu once again jumped up toward Exeggutor and its tail started to glow before it tuned silver.

He swung his tail round and it hit Exeggutor. The force of this one also knocked Exeggutor down.

This time Exeggutor did not get back up.

'You two are losers, how can our strong Pokémon lose against a weak stupid little rat?' The leader of the group asked with a bit of fury.

It made me furious with the words he described Pikachu. "Weak" and "stupid"? Pikachu was not weak or stupid, sometimes he was somewhere else, but a Pokémon had to have a mind of their own, and he spoke of Pikachu like a tool, not a friend, Pikachu was my best friend.

Okay, so who was this guy going to bring out, another Pokémon that was easy to defeat?

'Parasect, let's go.'

Great another Pokémon that I did not have registered that this gang had.

'You still up for this buddy?' I asked Pikachu.

He nodded in confirmation.

How I wish I had complete control of aura, it would be great to show these guys how I could really battle, but my aura hadn't activated in ages and it was unpredictable, I doubted it would flare up now. Now wasn't a time I would need it. I'm sure Pikachu would be fine against this last Pokémon.

'Parasect, X-scissor.'

Paras crawled up to my Pikachu with its claws up above its head.

'Double team.' I said.

Pikachu split into loads of copies which surrounded Parasect.

Parasect swiped the Pikachu that was the original one. Unfortunately, now it wasn't.

Parasect then crawled and swiped another, every time it got a fake of Pikachu, it crawled faster, soon there were only a few copies left.

'Pikachu, Iron tail.'

The remaining Pikachu ran toward Parasect, all of them had their tails glowing before it turned silver.

'Leech seed.' The boy said.

The Leech seed shot out of Parasect and curled around one Pikachu's legs, this Pikachu stumbled as the seeds planted and the vines that sprouted out and wrapped around its back legs.

The copies that were not the real one disappeared.

Great, now what was I supposed to do?

Pikachu was stuck, and it wouldn't be able to move much.

'X-scissor.' The guy again said.

Parasect shot toward Pikachu and struck it with the attack.

Pikachu cried in pain.

Parasect must have been powerful, well at least this trainer knew how to battle, he was so much better that his fellow accomplices. Their Pokémon were terribly trained compared to his, could he not have figured this out earlier than today?

'X-scissor.' He repeated.

'Dodge.' I said, and Pikachu knew exactly what I meant.

He moved as much as he could with the little movement the vines gave him.

The move missed Pikachu and instead snapped the vines that restricted Pikachu.

Pikachu shot under Parasect.

'Yes!' I exclaimed in delight. 'Use quick attack.'

Pikachu shot with blinding speed toward Parasect and hit it head on.

Parasect rolled backward a few times, but eventually settle on its legs, thankfully for it.

I suddenly remembered the move that Pikachu was going to learn. It was a move I had only seen once before.

When Daniel battled me, his Pikachu knew it and now mine was trying to learn the move also. It might give me an edge to this battle. I knew it wasn't the best move to use, but when I was in this position I think it would serve well.

'Pikachu, use Volt Tackle.' I said.

Pikachu was enveloped in an electric current before he sped towards Parasect, the speed was incredibly quick, slower than extreme speed and maybe aerial ace, but it was almost as fast as what people would call "blinding speed".

Pikachu hit Parasect and Parasect was pushed back almost toward the trainer's box.

The guy was shocked at how far my Pikachu had pushed his Pokémon.

I knew that Pikachu received recoil damage, but the guy I was battling didn't need to know that.

I couldn't let the shock settle in, I had to issue another attack before he came over the initial shock.

'Quick attack.' I said.

Pikachu looked a little worn out because of the recoil damage, but he still carried out the attack.

This knocked down Parasect.

I half expected it to get up, but it stayed down.

'H-how could a weak Pokémon like that rat beat all our Pokémon?' The guy asked.

I was getting tired of these guys calling Pikachu a rat, he was called the electric mouse Pokémon, not rat, mouse.

'I believe I can answer that.' I heard a male voice say.

A boy I remembered from earlier came out from the bushes. He was the one who told us where the Pokémon centre was.

I felt like her was a creepy guy spying on our Pokémon battle.

'All your Pokémon are not entirely satisfied. For instance: Your Raticate's fur is a bit shaggy and long, and its tail is a bit dry. Your Exeggutor is looking paler than usual and the leaves are a pit frail-like. As for your Parasect, its mushroom is looking a little wrinkled and saggy, its pincers aren't that sharp either. As for this Pikachu, it has a shiny coat and its tail is striking and, the colour saturation is that of an extremely healthy Pikachu.' The boy said.

'How dare you insult our Pokémon in that way.' The leader guy said.

'How else would your Pokémon have lost that battle?' The boy asked rhetorically. 'A Pokémon's health is most important, and the Pokémon you have are not as healthy as they could be, but I could give you some pointers if you like…'

'Forget it, get lost you creep.' The leader said as he ran off, his accomplices hot on his trail.

I was getting a little confused and a few questions swam around in my head. I had to get a few things straight.

I collected Pikachu before Camilla and Leaf came and stood next to me.

The boy who emerged from the bushes was still staring in the direction the guys ran in.

'Uh…' I started, struggling how to continue that sentence. '…who are you?' I finally managed to ask.

The boy turned around to reply.

'I'm a Pokémon Watcher.' He explained.

As if it was that simple.

'Really? Cause it seems like you're a creep who spies on people and Pokémon.' Camilla said.

'No, no. I am a Pokémon watcher, I observe Pokémon and draw some to better understand their health. I am interested in different Pokémon's health, some watchers do it just because they like drawing Pokémon, and others do it for certain qualities in Pokémon.'

'Did you follow us here?' Leaf.

'Only because you seemed lost.' The Pokémon watcher defended. 'I was about to enter to confront about you, you know see if you were alright, you seemed very confused yesterday.'

'Thanks for the help yesterday.' I said.

'Though when you got dragged out and were placed in the trainer's box I hid behind the bushes because I knew a Pokémon battle was about to take place and I love sketching when a battle takes place.' The Pokémon watcher continued.

'Those guys. I can't believe them.' Camilla almost growled.

'I know, how could they?' Leaf asked.

'Sorry, back up. What actually happened?' the watcher asked.

'They came in the Pokémon centre whooping about a stupid Pokémon. I stood up angry and they thought of y battling it would put me in my place smaller and weaker like them, they insulted my Pikachu, that pushed me over the edge.' I explained.

'Was your Pikachu the "stupid" one?' The watcher asked.

'No, it was a wild one.' Leaf replied.

'We think it's in trouble.' Camilla added.

The boy mused over our assumptions.

'Okay, this Pokémon could be hurt, lost or worse, and if that's the case I would be more than happy to assist you with this problem. I presume you want to solve it?' The watcher guessed.

All three of us nodded in unison.

'Well what are we waiting for?' The watcher said.

'Wait, what is your name?' I asked.

'I'm Tracey Sketchit, and I'm going to help you with this lost Pokémon.'

 **Well here is chapter 5. Now Tracy has been introduced, as soon as this has gone up the poll on my profile will be taken down, so there's probably no point in voting now, but thanks if you did, and you should get the result within the next few chapters. I would have preferred the choice as it stood before I posted this, and I don't think it's changed since then, but we'll see. Anyway, I will have a new poll up as soon as this is posted, it's to do with an OC I was given I hope they don't mind me putting their OC in a poll, but this will be important for this Arc and the Johto one I will do once I have completed this one. There will also be another poll going up, so please vote for that one also.**

 **That was quite a big authors note, anyway until next time.**

 **Chapter six: Lost Lapras**


	6. Lost Lapras

**Disclaimer: Don't own Pokémon**

 **Thanks to my beta DRD for proofreading and editing this chapter.**

Lost Lapras

As we ran to the docks of Tangela island I was trying to comprehend what had happened this morning because it had been quite eventful.

The thing that rang out the most that there was this guy that we hardly knew, and he was willing to help us with a lost Pokémon.

The thing was we had no information about this Pokémon. All we knew was that it was wild, and we didn't know where it was which, in turn, means it was lost.

We didn't know where it was, what type it was, what Pokémon it was.

It was definitely away from the Pokémon centre, for all we knew it could be on a different Island.

I thought it was most likely to be a water type Pokémon, but I could never be too sure.

'Where exactly are we going?' Leaf asked. 'We don't even know where this Pokémon is.' She continued half out of breath.

Tracy and I slowed down as we reached the docks.

Leaf was right, we shouldn't have rushed into this, we should have planned where we would look, but this Pokémon was lost and probably felt ill and abandoned.

All four of us walked along the dock before we heard a noise.

'How do you like that?' A voice I had a bad experience asked.

'You stupid Pokémon.' Another said.

My friends and I ran toward the voices, we came upon a beach a few seconds later.

On the beach were three guys and a Pokémon I had seen before.

Lapras was on the sand and the three guys that I battled earlier were hitting it with sticks. Lapras was crying out weakly at every lash it received. These guys didn't give up did they.

'Hey!' I called out.

I tried to keep my cool, but the anger was bubbling just underneath my surface.

They three guys looked at me and shock immediately fell upon their faces, they dropped the sticks and fled.

My friends and I ran toward the injured Lapras.

It didn't realize we were here, it was too weak to do anything.

I knew we needed to get it to the Pokémon centre, but I couldn't carry it I had five Pokémon, as did Leaf. Camilla had six, so, she couldn't have any more Pokémon n her team, true one was not ready to battle it yet, but that wasn't the point.

'Tracy can you capture it, we need to take it to the Pokémon centre.' I said.

'I don't need a Pokémon.' Tracy replied.

'It's not for you.' Camilla replied.

'She's right, this Pokémon need to get to a Pokémon centre it needs proper medical attention.' Leaf agreed.

'What about you?' Tracy asked.

This wasn't exactly the time to be asking these questions.

'Full Team.' Camilla said.

'I will not capture a Pokémon this injured, it's just cruel.' Leaf replied.

I on the other hand no valid answer. I could just easily capture Lapras and when it was better I could either keep it or release it.

I opened up my bag and brought out a Pokéball.

Lapras gave a weak cry as it saw the Pokéball. I knew that it didn't want to be captured, but this was the only way that it would be able to get better.

I also knew that if it could Lapras would struggle.

'I'm really sorry.' I apologized. If there was any other way to transport it to the Pokémon centre then I would happily do it that way, but Lapras was a big Pokémon and all four of us wouldn't be able to carry it through town and to the top of the hill.

'Maybe I should try to heal its wounds before you encapsulate it.' Tracy said.

I nodded as that was probably best.

Tracy got on the ground and opened his bag, he brought out a full restore before trying not to get too close to Lapras without scaring it even more and tending to its wounds.

As soon as Tracy gave me a nod, saying that was all that he could do I opened up the Pokéball and Lapras was too weak to give up a fight, so the Pokéball dinged as soon Lapras was inside.

Me and my friends ran all the way to the Pokémon centre, we were all out of breath as soon as we got there, that hill was really hard to run up.

We all caught our breath, so we could walk up to nurse Joy and tell her the problem without stopping midway through the sentence to catch our breath.

'Hello,' nurse Joy greeted. 'How may I help you?' She asked.

'Could you take my Pikachu and see if you can help this Lapras?' I asked holding out the Pokéball Lapras was in. 'It's not in a good state.' I told her.

'Of course.' She said taking Pikachu and the Pokéball Lapras was in behind.

My friends and I sat down on a nearby table.

Leaf took the seat next to Tracy and they started talking, but at the moment I was scanning the Pokémon centre.

'Find anything?' Camilla asked, snatching my attention.

'Just looking to see if those goons are back here after I yelled at them and they ran away.' I replied.

'Their behaviour was just revolting.' Leaf agreed.

'I can't believe anyone would imagine harming a Pokémon in that way, I feel really sorry for the Lapras, it probably won't trust us for a while.' Tracy said.

I was confused.

'Why not?' I asked. 'We saved it.' I added.

'Wild Pokémon don't see it that way, if they have a run in of bad experiences it takes a while for them to trust anyone.' Tracy replied.

The ding sounded which signalled that Pikachu was back to full health.

'How you feeling, buddy?' I asked as I went up to the counter.

'Your Pikachu is fine, but you might want to come back here, the Lapras isn't in any good condition.' Nurse Joy told us.

She took us behind the counter and into the back room. She took us down a hallway that definitely looked like a hospital one, then we came outside and in a pool on the other side of a paned window was Lapras, it looked a little better, but I had no clue as to why it was still injured, it still looked beat up, but was now ready to resist.

'I tried to return it to the Pokéball, but it broke free.' Nurse Joy told us. 'I have something to heal it fully, but it won't take it from me, so I thought one of you might be able to change its mind.' Nurse Joy said.

'I'll do it.' I volunteered. Even if I didn't speak up my friends would have volunteered me. I bet now even Tracey would, he did let me catch Lapras and he thought Pikachu was healthy, so why not me?

Nurse Joy took a vile out from her pocket and gave it to me.

Now I was a bit nervous, I'm sure Tracey was right about Lapras being a bit skittish around humans.

'Buddy, you stay here for a bit. I don't want to scare the Lapras more by outnumbering it.' I told my Pikachu.

He deemed that a reasonable explanation and jumped off my shoulder and instead went to perch on Camilla's shoulder, opposite to the one her Pikachu was on.

I opened the glass door and cautiously walked in.

As soon as the door closed behind me the Lapras head shot up to look at me.

I took a step forward, I did not want to startle the Lapras, so I took each step slowly.

'Hello, Lapras.' I started, talking in a hushed tone to keep it calm. 'Do you remember me?' Lapras cocked its head to the side. 'I have something here to help you get better.' I told it.

As soon as I got close enough to give the vile to Lapras, Lapras narrowed its eyes and with the tip of its nose hit the vile and it flew out of my hand.

It flew over the wall.

My Pikachu jumped and caught the bottle in mid-air, so it didn't break.

I'm glad my Pikachu was quick and had great reflexes. I didn't know what I would do without him.

I walked out backwards so the Lapras didn't hurt me, because I'm sure it would have if it found the chance.

'That didn't work.' I said as soon as I closed the door behind me.

I didn't realize nurse Joy had left, but she probably thought we could sort this out ourselves, and she probably had trainers out there waiting to be tended to.

'I think you were right, Tracy. I'm not sure that Lapras will trust any of us.' I agreed with his previous statement.

'Then why not send in Pikachu?' He suggested. 'They are both Pokémon, maybe your Pikachu can persuade it to take the medicine.' Tracy offered.

'What do you say Pikachu?' I asked.

He seemed a little hesitant at the idea at first, but after a few seconds-after he thought it over-he decided "sure, why not". It may be the only way that Lapras was going to get better.

Pikachu went in with the vile and he started conversing with the Lapras.

Lapras seemed a little worried as soon as Pikachu entered, but that probably because Pikachu was an electric while Lapras was a water. The type matchup was not a good idea, but Pikachu managed to reassure it that it wasn't going to do anything, we saw Lapras muscles loosen, and it relaxed.

Pikachu and Lapras continued to converse.

I didn't know what they were talking about. I would have if my aura flared up, but I didn't have control over it at the moment, plus this wasn't important. Speaking of aura, I may have to tell Tracey about that later.

I wasn't sure if Tracey would be with us for a while, or if he was just here to help us. Whatever the case I was grateful he was here, he was knowledgeable about things we weren't. He brought sense twice since we met him, without the sense Lapras may still be on that beach getting whipped by sticks.

Eventually Pikachu managed to persuade Lapras to take the medicine.

But even after that Pikachu stayed in for a while talking with Lapras. I was happy that Pikachu was making a friend, but I'm sure now that Lapras would want to go back to the wild.

Pikachu came out.

'Well done buddy.' I praised him.

'Well done Pikachu.' Leaf said.

'It was good, but I think we should let Lapras rest for a bit.' Tracey said.

We all agreed and made our way to the Pokémon centre.

There was a lot of chatter happening in the Pokémon centre once we entered the lobby.

'That was a great migration this morning.' I heard one boy say.

'It was the best one I have seen.' Another boy said.

'It was my first time seeing it, and those Pokémon were gracious.' I heard a girl say.

I didn't know what this migration was, obviously it was Pokémon and it was a big thing, but I didn't know what Pokémon or why it was very talkative.

'Hey.' I said as I got to the table that the chatter was going on about the migration. 'What's this migration?' I asked.

'You haven't heard of it?' A girl asked.

I turned at the voice and saw that she was wearing something that didn't suit her

Her skin was quite pale, but her other features were what stunned me more, she had long blonde hair that fell to her waist, two strands of hair had pink bows in them, they were on either side of her face, both strands of hair fell over her shoulders while the other part of her hair cascaded down her back. She had striking red eyes, they were startling and extremely intimidating, I felt like cowering, but regained my composure. She had a pink and blue hair clip on the left side of her hair pinning her hair behind her ear. She had a white non-sleeved shirt that had the top button undone and her collar was unkempt, she had a notebook cuddled up to her chest along with a pen. On top of her second button was a light blue bow tie. The hem of her shirt was also a light blue. She had a black short skirt and the bottom was pink and frilly. She had black socks that covered her knee and between that and her skirt she was showing off her leg. Her shoes were pink high-heels.

She was also a little older that maybe by a year or so.

Her fashion wasn't bad, but in my opinion, it didn't suit her, but I wasn't one to judge I only just met the girl.

'No, we haven't.' Camilla replied.

'Where have you been?' She asked.

'We live in Kanto. Leaf remarked.

'Okay, well this "migration" is a great trek across the Orange Archipelago Sea that the Lapras do every year.' The girl explained.

'Lapras?' Tracey exclaimed.

'That means that the Lapras we saved might belong to that Lapras group.' I said.

'Pod.' The girl interrupted.

'Huh?' I asked.

'Pod.' The girl repeated. 'A group of Lapras is called a pod.' She informed.

This girl was very well informed.

'Do you come from this region?' Camilla asked this girl.

'Actually, I'm from a far-off region, farther than Kanto, or Johto for that matter.' The girl replied. 'I just know a lot about places I've never been.' The girl informed us.

'Okay, thanks.' I said.

The girl nodded and walked out of the Pokémon centre.

'She was very informative.' Leaf said.

I knew Leaf didn't like her, I could hear it from the tone of her voice. It didn't really matter, it's not like we were going to meet her again.

'So, this Lapras could belong to that Lapras "pod", that is migrating.' I said, repeating my earlier statement.

'So, how did it wash up on shore?' Camilla asked.

None of us had an answer, but I figured her question was rhetorical anyway.

'That Lapras you saved is a baby, and it was separated because of the taunting of the trainers you battled earlier.' Nurse Joy said.

I didn't realize nurse Joy noticed that those boys had abused the Lapras, I also didn't know how she knew that I battled with them. Sure enough, anybody could see that I stood up abruptly because I was angry, and sure anyone could see I was being dragged out for a battle. But I thought she was too busy to recognise, she was tending to other people's Pokémon.

'A baby Lapras was separated from its pod?' I asked nurse Joy going up to the counter.

'It sure was, and at the moment it is scared because it is a baby, there is no way that it would trust you since the bad experience it just had.' Nurse Joy told us. 'Also, it may be hard to have the Lapras return to its pod, as the migration finishes on the other side of the island later this evening.'

'So, we have until this evening to get this Lapras to trust all of us and get it back to its family?' I asked.

'Precisely.' Nurse Joy replied as if it was that simple.

This was a task that was anything, but simple, first we had to get to one side of the island and since this island was quite round that could be anywhere. Second, we had to time it right to show Lapras where its family was at the right time, and finally we had to get the Lapras to trust all four of us. If I couldn't get it to trust me, what was the hope in all four of us gaining its trust?

This task seemed pretty hopeless at the moment.

None of us had any clue on how to approach this.

Maybe if Pikachu could try and persuade it to let us help it.

Pikachu was our best bet as he already had a conversation with it. I tried, but it completely ignored me, then it remained solitary to me by hitting the vile from my hands.

'Our best bet for it to trust us, is Pikachu.' I told my friends.

'Do you know how long it would take to get it to trust us, that could take days.' Tracey said.

'Then I will happily have Lapras with us until we see its family again.' I said. 'If this Lapras doesn't mind travelling with us until we see its family then I have no problem with that.' I added.

'So, Jordan, what's the plan?' Camilla asked.

She looked confused as soon as she said it, but I understood why she was confused, I rarely had a plan, I was an go-in, come-out kind of trainer. Especially with Gym battles, I go all-in and normally come all-out. This would have to be different, if I went all-in there would be no way of getting Lapras to trust us.

I told my friends exactly what the plan was, when I was done I didn't see any objections and also no-one had any input or say at what I delegated for us to do.

We asked if we could see Lapras, nurse Joy agreed to the request, and we let Pikachu go first.

As soon as we made it outside Pikachu was already in talking to Lapras.

'You sure this is going to work?' Camilla asked.

'It has to, if we have any chance of gaining its trust and helping it reunite with its family.' I replied.

I saw Tracey sitting down on the floor, he had his sketchpad out and a pencil, he was obviously sketching the conversation between Pikachu and Lapras.

Pikachu turned to us and looked a little shocked.

This did not look promising.

Pikachu came out and started conversing with us.

I didn't get much of what he said, but I caught the gist of it, Lapras wanted Cubone in the confinement with it without anyone, but my Pikachu.

This would only work if Camilla agreed to these terms, this was going to be hard for Camilla as she was the Cubone's surrogate mother. So, this may be hard for her, leaving a baby in a place with someone she didn't trust. I understood her extended hesitation.

She was worried with what Lapras would do to her Cubone.

But this was Camilla's decision, she was the one who would ultimately decide.

Camilla sighed like she had been defeated, she placed her Cubone on Pikachu's back and Pikachu instantly went into the confinement where Lapras was.

Lapras looked shocked that Camilla would actually do that, so was I, considering Camilla had not let Cubone go since she gained its trust.

Camilla instantly had a frightened expression on her face, but I'm sure she knew deep down that Lapras wouldn't do anything to hurt another baby Pokémon like itself.

Camilla was right to distrust it with Cubone at first, as normally babies cannot take care of babies, but this was different as Pikachu was in there and Lapras was much larger than Cubone anyway.

Pikachu placed Cubone on top of Lapras head and Camilla, put her hands over her mouth, she really wasn't in a good position right now. I knew she wanted to rush in there and snatch her Cubone off of Lapras head, but we had to gain its trust, plus Pikachu was in there, he was a good babysitter.

Lapras spoke to Pikachu.

Pikachu quickly ran out and what he said was that Camilla and I were allowed in.

Leaf couldn't believe this as she loved Pokémon, but she respected it and instead went to sit by Tracey as he sketched.

Camilla reached out for Cubone as soon as she entered, Lapras tilted its head forward and Cubone slid into its mothers' arms.

Camilla was so happy to have Cubone back in her embrace.

Lapras nodded at her in thanks, but I knew Camilla would never do that again.

'So…Lapras, can you trust us?' I asked.

Lapras cocked its head to the side.

'Pikachu, what have you been talking about?' I asked him. It didn't seem like Lapras knew what we were talking about, so I assumed Pikachu, had just been talking about something else.

Pikachu rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

I sighed, what had Pikachu been talking about?

'Lapras, what Pikachu was supposed to tell you was that we want to help you, we want you to be reunited with your family.'

At that Lapras screeched and brought its head toward me. It wrapped its long neck around my body and almost crushed me.

So, I guessed it was happy at what I told it. It could have wanted to try and kill me, but I'm sure that was an accident.

It let go of me a few seconds later and splashed about while squealing in delight, both Camilla and I got soaked.

'I think it's happy.' Camilla commented noticing he mood Lapras was in.

I waited for Lapras to calm down until I continued.

'I will have to carry you in a Pokéball, until we reach your family.' I explained.

Lapras did not like that, it used one of its flippers and purposely got me wet, but only me this time.

'But…' I started. 'Later this evening we could meet your family on the far side of the island. It is a chance, not a very high one, but it's still a chance.' I told the Lapras.

The Lapras looked like it was pondering the idea.

I understood. If I was in the Lapras place I would have to consider the options I gave it.

On the one hand it could be reunited with its family later today, but on the other hand it would be stuck in a Pokéball for weeks, or maybe even months and I knew some Pokémon hated being in Pokéball's, maybe this Lapras was one of those Pokémon.

It probably wasn't a good idea for me to say that there was a low chance of us meeting this Lapras family later this evening.

I turned around and saw Leaf was laughing, Tracey wore a smile, but he was still sketching. I wondered what Leaf was laughing at, I had an idea, but I would ask her later.

Obviously, both Leaf and Tracy thought whatever it was they both felt amused by was funny.

Lapras nudged me, to grab my attention.

'You made a decision?' I asked.

Lapras squealed in happiness, that probably meant it was okay for it to travel with us for a while until it could reunite with its family.

I took out the Pokéball and Lapras went in with no objection.

The ball wiggled a few times.

I remembered that I didn't officially catch Lapras earlier as I released it as I gave it to nurse Joy and as soon as it came out it was officially a wild Pokémon.

Once the ball dinged Lapras was now officially my Pokémon. That's how it would be until I released it when we found its family.

I looked up into the sky and realised that it was turning into late afternoon, in a few hours the sun would set, and our chance would be over, so it would be a good idea to get to where the Lapras pod would be later this evening as soon as possible, just so we didn't miss it.

Camilla and I exited with Lapras happily inside the Pokéball.

'So, it was fine with us?' Tracey asked.

'We think so.' Camilla replied.

'What were you two laughing about?' I asked.

'You getting splashed by the Lapras, it didn't look very happy with what you told it.' Leaf told me.

'Hey!' Tracey exclaimed, interjecting Leaf's statement. 'I did not laugh. I just found it amusing. I had no idea that a Pokémon would reject Jordan.'

I'm so glad he didn't know about the incident I had with Aerodactyl.

Camilla saw my expression and gave me a sympathetic look.

She knew exactly what I was thinking. She had been with me longer than Leaf, so that made sense. Plus, Leaf was not there when the incident took place, so she didn't know how bad it was.

'Well since Lapras trusts us to some extent, let's see if we can reunite it with its family tonight.' Leaf said.

I'm glad she didn't catch on with my expression or Camilla's reassuring one. I couldn't have all those questions, not now. I had more important matters than that. That was the last thing I wanted to think about.

My friends and I raced out to the lobby, we thanked nurse Joy and gave her a small explanation of what was happening before we continued to run.

We ran down the hill and entered the town.

Since apparently, we had to go to the other side of the island I thought it might take us a while, and there wasn't much time left, especially if we spent ages like we did yesterday trying to navigate through this town attempting to find a Pokémon centre.

At least today wasn't as eventful as yesterday, today had a few ups and downs, but not so much as yesterday. I don't think I could have handled two days like yesterday in a row.

We slowed down as soon as we entered the town, we attempted to catch our breaths as we walked to the beach where we found Lapras earlier.

Maybe the beach could lead us to the opposite side of the island.

This may be a bonus for us. I mean I had never seen a migration before, but I couldn't say the same for anyone else. Every single one of my friends has lived in a different town or city to me. This might be my first and last time to see a Pokémon migration.

Also, I knew that Lapras were usually a rare Pokémon, that would make this an extra special experience.

We walked along the beach, the sea was calm, I could only see ripples flash across the ocean's surface. No waves were visible.

I saw the sky was starting to darken, we didn't have much time left, and I didn't want Lapras to be unhappy that we didn't find its family that same day as I told it that we might.

We continued to walk on the beach, and found out it was longer than we initially realised, it was much longer as it went around the island and to the far side.

The sight that we came to was really good, quite nice was an understatement, one of the best sights I had ever seen. To be honest it was the second best scenic sight I had ever witnessed in my entire life. It brought back so much nostalgia from Pallet town when I was little. We were looking at a sunset across the ocean's surface. There was only one person I shared this with in Pallet. And she is the only one I would share it with in Pallet. It was special for us, it was a symbol of our friendship. But Rachel wasn't with me right now and this wasn't Pallet, so I guess this sunset didn't count, but it still caught my breath.

A setting sun glinting off the reflection of water's surface was a lovely sight.

My friends froze for a second also taking in the sight.

But we couldn't stay there forever we had something we needed to do.

We all sat down on the beach watching the sun set.

'So much nostalgia.' I said.

I didn't mean to say that out loud, but it just blurted out, the nostalgia was beginning to get too much.

All of my friends looked at me in confusion.

'You haven't been here before, have you?' Leaf asked me.

I shook my head.

'No, it's just the scene.' I replied. 'It has a special meaning.'

'The sunset?' Tracey asked.

I nodded.

None of my friends pressed any further.

Time seemed to pass by really slowly, I knew the suspense was getting to us.

I hoped Lapras family passed by sometime soon. We were delving deeper into the evening, and with every second that ticked by the burden that I held got heavier, the knot in my stomach tightened.

I stood up and walked to the surf, I was going to feel really guilty if we didn't get Lapras back to its family.

Then I saw a silhouette emerge from behind a rock, it looked like a Lapras.

Before long there were more emerging from behind this rock.

This must have been Lapras family.

I let Lapras out.

'Look, Lapras.' I said pointing out to the sea where the silhouettes were. 'It's your family.' I told it.

Lapras turned and gave out a shrill cry of delight before is rushed to the pod of Lapras.

A few Lapras turned toward the beach, Lapras gave another shrill cry, this time all the Lapras turned, some gave a shill cry back.

One of the Lapras, which looked like this Lapras mother rushed toward its baby.

They brushed up together as a happy family finally reuniting.

I was glad we found Lapras family, it was always great to see a happy ending, sometimes things don't end out great, but eventually, there is always something that turns out good and that overpowers all the bad things.

The Lapras started to continue on their migration.

The baby turned back and gave one last shill cry.

I held up my hand and waved goodbye to it. I had now released a Pokémon I had just captured. I had done what I set out to do. I had reunited a baby with its family.

It was better that Lapras was with its own family. It wouldn't have wanted to travel with me anyway.

Who knows I may see the Lapras in the future.

As soon as the Lapras were out of sight I turned around, my friends were standing there.

'Well done, Jordan.' Tracey congratulated me. 'I know that was hard, it would have been hard for me to do.' He commented.

'Why don't we go to the Pokémon centre and we can sort out what to do tomorrow?' Camilla suggested.

I agreed with her.

We slowly walked back to the Pokémon centre, we weren't in any rush, but by the time we reached the town it was almost vacant. The sky was now a deep shade of blue and a few stars started to show in the sky.

Once we reached the Pokémon centre the sky was almost black. We headed to our own rooms and I crashed immediately, today had been a big day.

 **And here is chapter six done, I guess you guys know what the outcome of my first poll is now, if not I wont spoil anything, but like I said last chapter two new polls are up, so I hope you guys start voting on those, I would love to know what you guys think, the first poll will close as soon as chapter eight is up and complete, and the second poll will close as soon as chapter nineteen is up, so a long time to vote for the second poll, but it will be a big project in this arc, as for the other one, it's just something I wasn't sure about, so I asked for you guys to vote instead. Until next time.**

 **Chapter seven: Water around Mikan**


	7. Water Around Mikan

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, but I do own this story**

 **Thanks to my beta DanielRedDragon for proofreading this story.**

Water Around Mikan

I woke up with light filtering through the blinds, the events of yesterday flashing through my head. I wanted to groan and go back to bed, but I needed to get up.

Pikachu was up and out of bed before me, he bounded through the doors toward the lobby without me. I found this quite odd.

I quickly got dressed and followed him.

Camilla was already in the lobby, she was sitting down eating breakfast.

I went up to the counter immediately, there was something I had to do, something I had wanted to do for two days, but the last two days were busy, so I never had a chance.

'Hello, how may I help you?' Nurse Joy asked.

'I'd like to register for the Orange Island League please.' I said.

'Of course.' She replied. 'May I take your Pokédex for a second?'

I handed it to her, she scanned it on a computer before handing it back with a small case, on the see-through case it was dotted with small blotches.

'What are these?' I asked pointing to the irregular blotches on the case.

'They are the islands that make up the orange archipelago.' Nurse Joy explained.

There were so many, all in different sizes and shapes and they were all in random places.

I noticed that this case was smaller and not as elegant as the case for Kanto that I had back home.

'Thank you.' I said and made my way to the table where Camilla was finishing off her breakfast.

I sat down next to her and put my case on the table.

'Looks different to the one you had for Kanto.' Camilla said.

'It certainly is smaller, but that's probably because there are only four gyms instead of the original eight.' I replied.

Leaf came out with Tracey in tow a few seconds later. At that time people came out of the lobby a few at a time, or one every so often, this was the time people woke up.

'How long have you been awake?' I asked Camilla looking at her expression, it was sad and looked like it was a bad thing that had happened.

'A while.' She replied.

'ESP?' I mouthed as Leaf and Tracey sat down.

She nodded in confirmation, I would ask her about the dream she had later, plus I would have to call Riley later also. It looked like the dream was worse this time.

Camilla put on a brave face to attack the day head on.

'I'm going to call professor Oak.' Leaf stated. She stood up and made her way toward the phone.

'She knows professor Oak?' Tracey asked astounded.

'We all know professor Oak.' I told Tracey.

'You know professor Oak?' Tracey asked.

I sighed in exasperation.

'I have lived in the same town as he has all my life, Camilla has met him a few times and Leaf has worked for him a few times.' I replied.

'Professor Oak is a role model to me.' Tracey stated.

'Would you like to meet him?' Camilla asked.

'Would I?' Tracey asked in astonishment at Camilla's request.

Camilla stood up and took Tracey over to where Leaf was.

I saw Tracey bow and he looked fidgety while he was over at the phone. I laughed at how he acted, he was a bit jittery, maybe he was just nervous around a world known professor.

Camilla came back a few minutes later, leaving Tracey at the phone with Leaf.

'You should call Riley.' I told her.

'It wasn't that bad.' She replied.

'It didn't look like it wasn't that bad, it looked like you had been effected loads, plus you had been awake for ages.'

Camilla brushed my comment off, she wasn't going to give in, so there was no pint in fighting with her, she would call my uncle when she felt it got really bad, despite her being the one to suggest that we call Riley in the first place.

Tracey came over a few seconds later.

'Wow, professor Oak is amazing.' Tracey commented. 'I didn't know you knew him, I wish I could do something for you in return.' Tracey said.

He was truly thankful that we let him meet the professor, and now he wanted to do something for us.

'Sure.' Camilla said before I could reply.

It would be rude, but we didn't really do anything, Leaf called up the professor and Tracey was escorted over to the phone to talk to him, but now he wanted to do something for us.

I was a bit troubled by something, but I don't know how well Tracey knew the Orange Islands Archipelago.

Leaf came over, she gave me a look and I knew exactly what she talked to professor Oak about, her expression was sad, but the expression flashed away as soon as it came.

Now both Camilla and Leaf had a problem, but I couldn't do anything to help either of them. I felt hopeless.

'Tracey, do you know anything about the Orange League?' I asked.

'Actually, I do, Jordan.'

'Well, could you tell me about it?' I asked.

'Sure, the Orange League is made up of four Gym leaders who, collectively are called the Orange Crew, and you need to beat all four of them and gain a gym badge from each, to earn the right to battle the Champion of the Orange Islands League.' Tracey explained. 'So, Jordan, you are thinking of taking on the challenge?' Tracey asked.

'Yes.' I replied. 'I want to be a Pokémon master.' I told him.

'Okay, the closest Gym is on Mikan island, so we could head there first.' Tracey said.

'That's great.' Leaf said. 'But how are we going to get there, we don't have the blimp anymore as it crashed on Valencia island, and the boat that brought us here is now on Valencia island, and so the sailor is also probably on Valencia island.' Leaf said.

'You do have a water Pokémon, right?' Tracey asked.

'I have a Blastoise.' I replied.

'That's perfect!' Tracey exclaimed. 'We'll ride Blastoise to Mikan island where you can challenge the Gym.' Tracey said.

My friends and I made our way to the beach where we let Lapras go.

I let out Blastoise.

'Hey, Blastoise, do you think you could give us a ride to Mikan island?' I asked.

Blastoise nodded in confirmation, he fell forward onto the waters surf and we all climbed on. It was hard to find a way to be comfortable on Blastoise, but we managed. We all sat cross-legged on Blastoise, all four of us on a water Pokémon. Blastoise didn't mind, and we all found it fun to ride a water Pokémon, this was an experience I did not have before. Not like this, I did ride Blastoise to the Seafoam Islands, and then to Cinnabar, and to an unknown island which Mewtwo was on, but not like this. This water seemed calm and not ferocious like the other times did.

Blastoise sped through the water in the direction of Mikan island.

According to Tracey, it was actually the next island, and the closest island to Tangelo island. This was a bonus. It was great that it was so close, after a few minutes riding Blastoise I saw an island appear on the horizon.

'That is Mikan island.' Tracy informed us. 'The main thing on the island is actually the Gym, not much there really. A Pokémon centre, like any other island, a few buildings and a Gym which is not near the buildings its off a footpath.'

So, we would have to walk a while before we got to the Gym. I didn't mind, I was eager to battle the first Gym leader and earn my first badge, that would be great for my first step to challenging the champion of the Orange Island Archipelago.

Blastoise reached Mikan a few minutes later, I was eager to battle the Gym leader, but I figured we'd probably go to the Pokémon centre first to plan how I would go up against this Gym leader. Never before had I planned out battles, so I don't know how this would differ.

I returned Blastoise and thanked him for getting us to this island, he would probably be our main mode of transport with us navigating our way around the Orange Islands.

We found the Pokémon centre pretty easily, it wasn't like the one on Tangelo island, that was a pain finding out it wasn't even in the town, it was actually on top of a hill.

As soon as we entered we noticed it was empty, no-one was in this Pokémon centre, but us. This was strange. Nurse Joy as always was behind the counter, but we were the only five in the Pokémon centre the rest of the place was vacant.

The shocked look on nurse Joy's face told us that this was normal for the Pokémon centre.

This made me wonder why there was a Pokémon centre on this island in the first place.

I suppose it was regulation to have a Pokémon centre on every island, plus there was Gym on this island, if you lost then you would have to retreat to the Pokémon centre to heal your Pokémon.

I gave nurse Joy a warm smile, she returned it and my friends, and I sat down at a random table.

'Pretty empty.' Camilla commented in a hushed tone.

'Not normal for a Pokémon centre.' Leaf agreed.

'Yeah, well this island is rarely visited, it has a hotel, so most people go there instead of coming here, it is quite a luxurious hotel, plus the only other reason people come to this island is for the Mikan Island Gym.' Tracey explained.

He was very well informed about the Orange Island Archipelago, he could be a tour guide of this place, if he could sail a boat.

'And that's the only reason I am here, I don't care much for a hotel.' I piped up.

'I would feel bad if we went to a hotel instead of here, for about a year I have slept in Pokémon centres it would be weird to sleep elsewhere.' Camilla said.

Tracey thought he should change the subject to my first Gym battle.

'So, Jordan, how do you plan to tackle this Gym?' He asked.

Both Camilla and Leaf looked at him like he was crazy.

'What?' He asked.

'Jordan?' Leaf asked clearly surprised by Tracey's question.

'Plan?' Camilla asked in the same tone.

Tracey looked at the girls confused, then to me with a pleading look.

'Jordan doesn't plan before he tackles Gym battles.' Camilla explained basically.

'And with that attitude he reached the Kanto Pokémon League and battled the second member of the elite four.' Leaf added.

Tracey was still surprised, maybe some trainers would plan for their Gym battles, but battles aren't scripted, they are full of surprises and can have their tables turned with a click of the trainer's fingers.

'So, you're just going to go there with no plans and hope for the best?' Tracey asked.

'Yup.' I nodded.

Tracey was still baffled at our explanation, but I didn't really want to explain it again, plus it would be better if he saw me battle instead of me telling him, he would definitely understand as soon as I won my first Gym badge.

'You ready Jordan?' Camilla asked shooting up.

'Pikachu?' I asked.

Pikachu perked up its ears and apparently, he was oblivious to our conversation.

'It's time for our first Gym battle.' I said.

'Pika!' he said with as much enthusiasm as I was keeping inside me.

I was fired up for this battle. I hadn't had an official battle in a while and I was eager for this next one.

'Tracey, you know the way to this Gym, right?' I asked.

'Yes, you would like me to take you there?' He asked.

I nodded.

'Yes please.' I replied.

Tracey led the way out of the Pokémon centre, we met almost no one on the way, not only was the Pokémon centre vacant, but so was most of the island, it made me feel a little uncomfortable. Was it a good idea to take on the Orange Crew and eventually the champion?

It seemed-as if not-any people took on the Orange League, like it wasn't popular enough. I understood why, it was small, the Orange Islands were scattered below Kanto, the Orange Crew weren't that well known, there were only four Gyms, and the champion didn't move around much.

It was just as well, you could battle the champion whatever time of the year, the chairman of the Pokémon League hadn't officialised this Pokémon league as an official one, but if you did win this league, you got your name engraved on a trophy.

The walk to the Gym wasn't in complete silence, my friends and I talked about how I was rash my other Gym battles, mostly Camilla, she had been with me for most of them. Both Leaf and Tracey were surprised at some of them, especially Tracey as he had never seen me before a Gym battle whereas Camilla had, but Leaf knew how reckless I could be.

I didn't mind them talking about me, but as I got closer I got more nervous about this Gym battle. This was different to how normal Gym battles where, what if this wasn't even a battle and was instead a challenge? It was unexpected and if I declared that I was going to battle the Gym leader I had to accept to their terms.

Again, like many times before, I was getting nervous. This shouldn't be like me, you'd think after eight Gyms the nerves shouldn't get to you, but there's always something holding you back, doubt sometimes fogged my mind. Unfortunately, my legs always seemed to have other ideas, it's like my brain had lost control of them, because no matter what I thought, their destination and direction would never change, their movement wouldn't falter not for even a fraction of a second.

Pikachu noticed my change in mood.

'Pika?' He questioned.

'I'm fine, buddy.' I reassured him. 'Just the nerves.' I replied.

'Pika!' he replied in determination.

I cracked a smile, his enthusiasm normally lifted my spirits, he had never failed before and that hadn't changed now.

'You're right.' I said.

He seemed proud that he had once again won over with his enthusiasm in battle.

I stopped as soon as I saw a building that overlooked the ocean. It looked like a run-down bungalow.

'There's the Gym!' Tracey declared.

This didn't look like a normal Gym, but to be fair this wasn't a normal Pokémon league, no officialness, no way to tell them how to run it. That made sense.

A boy about a year younger than I came up to us. He had black spikey hair and was wearing a tucked in yellow t-shirt with red shorts.

He looked like he was going to teach me something, but like I had to listen, like it was something important that would guide through the rest of my life.

'Hello.' He greeted us. 'I am Senta and welcome to the Mikan Island Gym, before you go up against the Gym leader I am your first challenge.' The boy who was Senta informed us.

I knew these kind of people, cocky, hard minded, thought they were supreme to anyone who they just met.

'I issue a battle with you trainer, for your ri…'

'Senta!' A female voice called.

Senta cringed at the voice.

A girl a little older than Tracey appeared, she had brown hair that draped on either side of her face and fell to her jaw, and the back part of her hair was in a short ponytail. She was wearing a black vest top and a salmon pink dress that fell to her shins. Her eyes were quite intimidating, she definitely showed that she was a Gym leader.

'What have I told you?' She asked.

'Sorry, sis.' He apologized slowly moving behind her.

'Who are you?' She asked looking down at me.

'I am Jordan Hale of Pallet Town and I am here to issue a battle with you.' I replied.

'A battle you want?' This girl asked.

'Yes.' I nodded. Letting go of a breath I didn't know I was holding.

'I am the Gym leader, I must accept your challenge, but because I am the Gym leader I have my own rules about the challenge.' She said challenge the second time carefully as if it was a word that she had picked out carefully. 'Come with me.' She said.

As we followed her she introduced herself.

'My name is Cissy of the Orange Crew and I am Mikan Islands Gym leader. I guess no one explained to you, Jordan Hale of Pallet Town.' She started. 'Here in the Orange Islands we have Gym challenges, not battles.' She added.

No battles? I thought.

'You see, most trainers think that battling is the only thing that matters for a Pokémon, but here in the Orange Islands we have a different way of approaching how to pit Pokémon against each other. Here, we help Pokémon with their skills and not have them endure through battles, this is better because no Pokémon gets hurt and it helps a Pokémon with all their abilities.' Cissy told me.

This was strange, but I guess I had to accept whatever skills she was talking about, plus what she told me got me thinking, maybe that battling wasn't all what it was, maybe Pokémon had other attributes that could be perfected.

I never thought of it that way, but to be fair the last battle I lost was against Brock the first time I battled him, so I guess that I didn't really need to perfect the other Pokémon's attributes, but if I had to use them to earn this Gym badge I would.

We made our way to the front of the bungalow and I saw a large table with cans on it, what was going to happen here?

This was strange, and I don't think it was going to get any easier.

'Welcome to my Gym challenge, another regulation I have is, only water type Pokémon are allowed to be in my battle so if you don't have one the you forfeit the battle until you have one.' Cissy told me.

I only had Blastoise, but I'm sure he would be able to do anything Cissy threw at us.

'Why don't your friends watch from behind us, don't want them to be getting in the way.' Cissy said.

My friends nodded and went to stand the opposite side to me as the cans on the bench.

'So, what are we doing?' I asked.

'On those benches is a target range, you will use a water type Pokémon to shoot all the cans down, you have three towers and six shots, all cans must be knocked down, the winner will be whichever of us has the most shots left after all he cans have been knocked over. And you must use a special attack, no physical attacks are allowed.'

This seemed pretty simple, all I had to do was hit down three towers in three goes.

'The challenger may go first.' Cissy continued.

I was going to go first, this put more pressure on me than I recently anticipated. I thought I would be going second.

'Blastoise, I choose you.' I called.

Blastoise came out and looked at the cans.

'Blastoise, use Hydro Pump to knock over those cans.' I said.

Blastoise eyed the cans and he went on all four before using his Hydro Pump to blast the first tower.

All the cans fell over. I was happy that his accuracy was on point, but what's more is he knocked down all six cans from the first tower, now all he had to do was knock the other two towers down without failure.

Blastoise aimed for the second tower and managed to knock that one down also. I was getting exited with this going how well it was I could win this Gym battle no problem, but I couldn't get too cocky or prideful, I just hope Blastoise wasn't feeling too proud.

He turned to face the last one and he managed to knock it down.

One can was wobbling and had not fallen over, if this can didn't fall over I had the possibility of losing.

The can wobbled for a bit longer before it finally fell.

Blastoise had done it, he had knocked down all the can towers, all eighteen cans, each one took one shot I had three shots to spare.

'Well done Blastoise.' I congratulated him as he stood back up.

'Seadra, let's do this.' Cissy called out.

Cissy called out a Pokémon that Camilla had. I remembered that Camilla's Seadra had been great in the battle against Rachel. Rachel had originally caught a Horsea, but gave it to Camilla as Rachel would have an Omanyte.

'Go.' Cissy called.

Seadra knocked down all three can towers pretty quickly. I was so glad this wasn't a speed test else Cissy would have won.

'Well done Jordan, you matched my Seadra, so we will move onto the second part of my challenge.'

Second part? I thought, how manty parts were there?

'In this part, clay pigeons will fly out the top of the building, you will have to knock more down than I, there will be five and no shot limit' Cissy explained.

I supposed this part of the challenge was a little harder, but I would do my best and so would Blastoise.

'You got this Blastoise.' I told him.

The first clay pigeon came out without warning, but Blastoise was quick to responding and shot at it. It broke on contact with Blastoise's Hydro Pump.

The next four came out randomly, but Blastoise hit the other four on the first try, just like the first, he was a natural at accuracy and power.

'Well done Blastoise.' I congratulated him again. Five out of five. I was on a roll, there was no way I would lose now. I just had to hope Cissy would hit four or less. Five would call for a tiebreaker.

Cissy's Seadra was on point will all five shots also, so it was still a tie.

'Okay, Jordan, you have shown that you are definitely a skilled trainer, but seems we are at a tie, this last challenge will decide if you are worthy of the Coral-Eye badge or not.'

I never knew the name of this badge I also had no idea what it looked like, but I was determined to find out.

'We will be doing a sea-ride race.' Cissy said. 'Each of us will pick a water Pokémon and we will have to stand on this Pokémon the whole way through the race, we will race to the buoy out in the ocean, go around it and come back, the first Pokémon to the shore wins.' Cissy explained.

I would have to stand and keep my balance on Blastoise since he is my only water type Pokémon, but I wondered who Cissy would use, she couldn't really use Seadra, could she?

Cissy returned Seadra.

'Blastoise, you're up.' She said.

So, this would be a Blastoise race.

Blastoise laid down on top of the water and I went to stand on top of him. I gained my balance on him pretty quickly, but I knew I would have to stand the whole way through else I would lose, and the Coral-Eye badge would not be mine.

Cissy's younger brother Senta will be the judge of the race.

'On your marks, get set, go!' Senta called.

Both our Blastoise set off at the same time and for the first few seconds they were evenly matched.

I knew that this would be the hardest challenge that Cissy gave me, she was an experienced Gym leader with a Blastoise whereas I was only a trainer with a Blastoise.

Me and my Blastoise had been together since day one when it was a Squirtle. He and I had been through so much, we had grown together, we had been together longer than me and Pikachu had, granted Pikachu was my best friend, but I had had Blastoise the longest.

Cissy's Blastoise started to get the advantage.

I was having trouble trying to keep up while balancing on the back of my Blastoise.

My Blastoise was determined to win as it started to get a little faster. Every time Blastoise got faster it got harder for me to stay standing upright. I had wobbled a few times and we hadn't even reached halfway yet.

I could see the buoy, it was in the distance a little red shape.

If it was that far away I didn't know if I would be able to win this.

I was thinking about forfeiting this match, I was beginning to think that this race was hopeless for Blastoise and I.

Before this challenge I was determined to win, now I was pondering if there was any point in trying if Cissy was winning.

The only thing I could do to win would be to somehow cheat, but I would not cheat. I didn't know how so, it was kinda impossible.

Cissy pulled slowly further away, and I began to think that this would definitely be impossible if I didn't have an advantage soon, or if Cissy faltered.

Cissy turned around the buoy with a sharp turn and started to head back toward the shore.

I followed a few seconds later, but my turn wasn't as sharp or as fast as her turn was.

Cissy looked behind her at me trailing, she kept pulling away, she turned back and wobbled, she was losing her balance, but unfortunately, for me, she was able to regain her balance and pull away further still.

I felt a pulse underneath me, it grew large in font of me and I realised a wave was forming, this was an obstacle I did not want to deal with this would only slow me down even more.

The wave was about the height of Blastoise as it rocked under Cissy, Cissy's expression was hidden from me, so I didn't know if this would have been a problem for her or if she would use it to her advantage.

The wave grew massive as it reached the shore.

Cissy's Blastoise rode up the wave that was slowly growing.

There would be no way of me winning if I did the same. I had a crazy idea and I might possibly lose the race, but if I followed Cissy then I would definitely lose the race, my method had to work.

'Blastoise, ride through the wave.' I said.

Blastoise didn't question my motive, but I was sure he seemed it was weird, but when were my methods orthodox, most of my battling methods weren't heard of or were weird, so why shouldn't my challenges have some of that flare in them also?

Blastoise pushed through the wave.

I felt the water shaping around me as Blastoise pushed his way through.

We emerged on the other side, there was no sign of Cissy, not even on the shore, I looked up and saw her riding the wave down.

She was descending really quickly even though she was behind us quite a bit, but that didn't stop her gaining on us as quick as she was, she had used the wave to her advantage.

The shore was five short metres. I could make it before Cissy caught up with me, right?

Everything seemed to slow down as every metre passed.

Cissy was gaining at least three metres for every metre Blastoise and I travelled.

Blastoise and I finally found the shore and I saw Cissy line up right beside me.

This was close, as I was too busy trying to win the race, I didn't know which of us reached the shore first.

Senta looked at us.

I was waiting for the answer.

I jumped of Blastoise as Senta announced the winner.

'By a very close margin Jordan Hale of Pallet Town wins the wave race.' Senta said.

'Yes!' I exclaimed. 'Well done Blastoise.' I said.

He let out a guttural growl in happiness.

I had won my first Gym challenge in the Orange Islands. It was one of the hardest challenges I had ever had to face, it was even harder than most of my Gym battles in Kanto.

'Congratulations, Jordan Hale, you have definitely proven yourself as a great trainer and you are deserving of the Coral-Eye badge.' Cissy said she handed me a pink badge in the shape of a clam shell with a small blue gem in the middle of it.

It didn't look like much of a badge, but it was to show that I had challenged the Mikan Island Gym and I had beaten it successfully.

I was glad, but I couldn't celebrate just yet I had three other badges to collect before I could even think of battling the Orange League champion.

'Congratulations, Jordan.' Camilla said.

'Well done.' Leaf agreed.

'So that's and Orange Gym challenge.' Tracey said.

It was obvious he had never seen one in action before, but that didn't matter. I guess it was right of him to see me battle, he had battled with us anyway.

'The next Orange Crew member you should battle would be Danny, on Navel Island, but there a few islands between here and there.' Cissy told me. 'Maybe you should explore them, since you are in the Orange Islands it wouldn't hurt to have a look around.' Cissy offered. 'I have a friend who can give you a boat ride in that direction.' Cissy continued.

'Thanks.' I said.

All four of us went to the Pokémon centre before we boarded the boat to the next island.

 **Here is the next chapter, hope you enjoy it, I hope how you like the Gym challenge turned out especially since its different from he anime. Anyway, I still have both polls up, one more chapter and one of them will be taken down, so if you want to vote go to the polls on my profile.**

 **Until next time.**

 **Chapter Eight: Pokémon With No Joy**


	8. Pokemon with No Joy

**Disclaimer: Someone owns Pokémon…it's not me.**

 **Thanks to DRD for beta-ing this chapter.**

Pokémon with No Joy

'We'll go check the boat out.' Leaf said. I knew she meant her and Tracey.

I knew she would rather walk with Tracey. They could both learn a lot about each other's stats about Pokémon, they both loved Pokémon and had different views, Leaf knew a lot about Kanto Pokémon, whereas Tracey knew a lot about the Pokémon found in the Orange Islands Archipelago.

So, while on their way to find the boat they would exchange facts on their Pokémon findings, this was also good for Camilla and me, I needed to talk to her, there was more to her ESP dream that she let on, and I needed to talk to her about. I had been holding back for so long. I'm sure Rachel and Brock might have noticed, but neither of them were here.

Camilla and I sat down on the first table in the Pokémon centre. I didn't mind nurse Joy listening to our conversation, she wouldn't really tell anyone.

I sat opposite Camilla, if Leaf was here she would be surprised, but I didn't dwell on that I had other matters that were more important.

'Camilla, we need to talk about your recent dream.' I said.

'I don't feel like it, Jordan.' She replied.

I knew she wouldn't have, but this dream seemed like it was a bad one, I didn't want Camilla to feel bad. She needed to share this dream, so it could come off of her shoulders. I didn't want her to feel a weight dragging her down.

'Camilla, if you don't tell me, how am I supposed to help you?' I asked.

'I don't need help, I'm fine.' She told me. Her sour expression that followed steered me in the other direction.

'Camilla, you need to talk to my uncle, or at least your mum about this.' I told her.

'Jordan, I am fine.' She said forcing a smile. 'See.' She said still forcing a smile.

'Please, can you talk to my uncle?' I asked. Camilla was starting to be difficult. 'If you keep this bottled up, it will only get worse.' I told her. 'My uncle might be able to help.' I added.

She sighed in defeat.

'Okay, but can we please wait until we reach the next island?' Camilla asked.

I suppose I could give Camilla that much, no-one knew how long it would be until Leaf and Tracey returned and she didn't want either of them to know.

Leaf knew about Camilla's ESP, but didn't know that she had dreams like my aura dreams. If Camilla didn't want to share this with me then I doubted she wouldn't want to share this with Leaf, sure girls share everything, but this was Camilla's problem. I knew she wouldn't want to involve Leaf or Tracey, plus if we involved Tracey there would be even more confusion and explaining. I didn't really feel like explaining things, not again, I had already done it more than I wanted to.

'Can I ask you something else?' I asked.

'Sure.' She replied.

'Why do you cringe at your last name?' I asked.

'That's a long story…' Camilla started. '…I'll tell you when we have more time.'

'Hey guys.' Leaf greeted us, she made me jump. I didn't hear Leaf or Tracey enter the Pokémon centre.

I turned around and Leaf took the seat next to me while Tracey was left to sit next to Camilla.

'So, how's the boat?' Camilla asked.

'The captain said he'll leave in twenty minutes.' Tracey replied.

This probably didn't leave us with much time here in the Pokémon centre, but we needed to continue on with our journey.

I had to continue and receive my second Orange Islands badge. I was determined to reach this region's Pokémon league.

Camilla was still trying to figure out what she would do next, and I had faith that she would find something that she loved doing.

Leaf wanted to know everything about Pokémon, this journey was crucial for her.

Tracey had tagged along with us, I didn't mind, it was another travelling companion. I was used to having three people travelling with me, it would be weird if I had two, plus I'd be outnumbered by girls.

It's not a bad thing, I considered both the girls as really great friends, it just felt better, now that I had another travelling companion and friend in Tracey.

'The captain is a great sailor, plus he is extremely informative about the Orange Islands. He travels all over the region and knows almost everything about it.' Leaf said. I could see the excitement in her eyes.

'This is a great opportunity for us to learn more about this region.' Tracey agreed.

'Especially you two.' I said meaning Leaf and Tracey.

'What do you mean?' Tracey asked.

'You two are the most educational driven people I have ever met, there are no more two people I have ever seen who have a thirst for knowledge as much as you.' Camilla replied. She had exactly the same thought as I did.

'You know my reason.' Leaf countered.

Leaf was right, I knew exactly why she wanted to learn so much about Pokémon.

She was aspiring to be a Pokémon expert and she was definitely one for it, I don't know how she kept so much information in her head. It baffled me. I could barely keep all the Pokémon I had seen in my head. I forgot most of them.

'I want to know all about Pokémon and this region it is the goal of a Pokémon watcher.' Tracey told us.

That made sense, someone who watches Pokémon, wants to know all about Pokémon.

He was much like Leaf in a lot of ways, but also very different, I bet he would like to work for professor Oak also, I also thought this may be how neither were that different from each other, but both had completely different information especially coming from different regions.

'We had better leave.' I stated. 'We don't want to be late.' I continued.

Sure, the boat probably wouldn't leave without us, but I wasn't too sure. I didn't meet the captain, but I also wanted to get to the next island before nightfall.

Camilla had to call Riley when we got to the next island, she had promised me, and I was worried, maybe my uncle could help her.

'Jordan's right.' Camilla piped up. 'What if we find new experiences on the next island?' Camilla asked rhetorically.

Leaf, Tracey and I stood up, and all four of us made our way to the boat to leave for the next island.

Tracey let out his Pokémon on the boat.

He had a Venonat, which I found out was the first evolution in Venomoth's evolution chain. It looked like a small purple ball of fuzz, with two peach feet on the bottom, two hands of the same colour on the front of it with three claws. It had two white antennae on top of its head. It had two large pink eyes and its mouth had two small fangs that looked like they resided on either side of its pink nose, but just below.

I took out my Pokédex to scan it.

' _Venonat is said to have evolved with a coat of thin, stiff hair that covers its entire body for protection. It possesses large eyes that never fail to spot even miniscule prey.'_

He had a second Pokémon. It was primarily blue. It was round and had two small legs and two small arms. Both its feet and hands were rounded. It had two large round ears atop its head with red insides. It had two black eyes. It had a black zigzag tail with a blue orb at the tip.

I took out my Pokédex to scan this Pokémon.

' _No data available.'_ My Pokédex told me.

No data? I thought.

'Tracey what Pokémon is that?' I asked gesturing to the Pokémon that wouldn't register in my Pokédex.

'That is my Marill, he is brilliant at listening to things, he helps me find things that I cannot hear myself. He's helped me get out a lot of tricky situations. Marill is a water type Pokémon and had two evolutions, its pre-evolved form known as Azurill, and Azumarill its evolved form.' Tracey told me.

'I was just wondering, my Pokédex wouldn't let me scan it.' I explained.

'That makes sense. Marill are native to the Johto region, you cannot find them in Kanto.' Tracey explained. 'I was given Marill as an egg from a stranger.' Tracey continued.

So, when I went to Johto I would be able to find these Pokémon for my team. It would be good to have a Marill on my team. I liked the look of them, plus I needed a water type on my Johto team, I had a Blastoise now, so it made sense to have a water type on my next team.

Tracey seemed eager to share more information. With both his Pokémon. I didn't mind it would definitely help understand those Pokémon.

'Venonat has helped me when I couldn't see things it has a view of two-hundred and seventy degrees. So, it can see more than a human can, it also has better visibility, it can see two times the distance and clarity of a human. Its antennae can feel and help it to hear, so it can sense other Pokémon or people around of up to ten miles in any direction. Marill, however has the best hearing of any Pokémon I have ever known, its large round ears can hear at least twice the distance of Venonat. Its tail on the other hand is helpful in the water, it not only is a float to help Marill swim, but it can detect if Pokémon are in the water, as long as the ball is in the water. Marill has helped me with Pokémon that have been in trouble in the water.'

Tracey had Pokémon that were really helpful. I didn't know Tracey liked to help that much, not only was he a Pokémon watcher and he knew loads about Pokémon's health, but he also like helping Pokémon and people that were in trouble.

I mean, I would love to help Pokémon and people that were in trouble, but Tracey had Pokémon that would assist him in helping Pokémon and people.

I saw all our Pokémon seemed eager to interact with both of Tracey's Pokémon.

After about just under twenty minutes later I could see the faint outline of an island in the distance.

So, this is where our next stop would be, our first stop before my next Gym battle. I wondered how many islands were between this one and that one.

I hoped it wasn't too much, I was eager to get to my next Gym, especially if it was as enjoyable as the one that Cissy had for me, the Gym challenges were tough. A lot tougher than the Gym battles back in Kanto, sure I enjoyed Gym battles, and these were a change, but I didn't mind them, I liked that they showed a different side of Pokémon training than growing stronger by battling against other strong Pokémon.

The island seemed to get larger as we got closer. It looked bigger than Tangelo Island, which was good in some way, more places to search for.

More Pokémon and information for Leaf to gain, a better understanding of the Orange Islands Archipelago for Tracey.

All four of us returned our Pokémon as we got closer, save for mine and Camilla's Pikachu and her Cubone.

The boat washed onto the shore, apparently there were no docks on this island, did that mean that there wasn't a town or city on this island?

My friends and I exited the boat and thanked the captain, he almost immediately sailed away.

'So, anyone have any idea where we go?' I asked.

We all turned to Tracey.

He looked scared as we put him on the spot.

'This is one of the islands I have not been on before.' Tracey admitted.

Well, that left us with a bit of a problem, we were lost, and we hadn't even moved off the beach yet.

'Shall we walk off the beach and see if we can find any chance of civilization or maybe a Pokémon centre at least?' Camilla asked.

'I looked along the length of the beach and found an open part of trees. Why there were trees so close to the beach I had no idea, but it looked like the open part might show a path.

'Over there.' I said pointing to the open part.

My friends and I headed that way, the open part showed a winding path twisting and turning throughout the trees.

Every now and then we would be able to see the blue sky above us, but it soon again disappeared underneath the canopy of the trees above us.

We walked for a good half an hour before I saw an opening up ahead.

Once we reached the opening we all breathed in a sigh of relief in unison.

There was a Pokémon centre. On the right side the path continued.

As always, there was a battlefield in front, most of the time it was vacant, but this time I saw two trainers battling. One trainer had a Gloom, while the other had a Nidorino.

I would have watched the battle, but I needed to get to the Pokémon centre. I wanted to make sure my Pokémon were in excellent condition, they hadn't been restored to full health for a while.

My friends and I entered the Pokémon centre and what we saw surely shocked me. My friends must have had a similar reaction to me.

There were at least twenty people in front of the counter in a chaotic fashion, they were surrounding the counter as if they were all urgent for something.

I tapped a boy who was at the back on the shoulder.

'Um, excuse me.' I said.

He turned to me, not impressed with me for interrupting whatever he was doing.

'What's going on?' I asked.

He sighed in exasperation as if the question annoyed him even further than me interrupting him.

'This Pokémon centre doesn't have a nurse Joy.' He said.

'What?' Tracey asked in shock.

This was not something that anyone would expect. Every Pokémon centre should have a nurse Joy, it was a nurse Joy's duty to care for trainers Pokémon.

What would happen now that no nurse Joy was present?

'For a few days now there has not been a nurse Joy behind that counter on this island.' The boy explained 'Did you really not know about this?' The boy asked.

'No.' I replied.

'We just arrived on this island.' Leaf explained.

'Well good luck getting to the front.' The boy replied. 'Chansey has her work cut out.' The boy continued.

My friends and I decided to sit down. I did not want to get caught in all that chaotic ruckus, but a Pokémon centre with no nurse Joy, that wasn't really a Pokémon centre.

A Pokémon centre was a hospital for Pokémon, and a hospital without a nurse or doctor wasn't really a hospital, it was just a place where really ill or injured people or Pokémon go, to slowly get weaker.

It was the opposite of battling and getting stronger.

Was it that no-one here knew how to care for Pokémon.

Maybe none of them had heard of revives, and full restores or hyper potions.

These were the best things to help a Pokémon if they were weak or had fainted.

I had read about the effects of most Pokémon market supplies and the best supply-in my experience-for fainted Pokémon were revives as they would reverse the effect of fainting, then use a full restore as it gets them back to full strength.

'This is crazy.' Tracey commented.

I nodded in agreement.

'But this is probably how inexperienced Pokémon trainers react to no nurse Joy.' Camilla suggested.

'It's not right for a nurse Joy to abandon her post.' Leaf added.

'I'm sure there was a good reason.' Tracey replied.

I agreed with Tracey, I wouldn't give up my dream for a good reason, so why would nurse Joy abandon her post?

'Well. We're not going to find out sitting here, are we?' I asked.

If there was nurse Joy on this island, then to stop the chaotic behaviour in this Pokémon centre, we had to find her and bring her back.

I was surprised no-one had found her yet, but I was determined to find her, this Pokémon centre needed her. And she had a duty, if the chairman of the Pokémon league found out that a nurse Joy had gone rouge what would happen to this Pokémon centre?

'We need to find nurse Joy, before this gets any worse.' Leaf agreed with me.

We all stood up, we were going to search for nurse Joy and bring her back.

My friends and I exited the Pokémon centre, that was probably the shortest time we ever spent in one.

We had something more important to do, we needed to find nurse Joy and bring her back, that was essential.

The trainers who were outside were still battling, but both their Pokémon were evenly matched, and starting to get worn out.

Finding Nurse Joy was urgent especially if these trainers were nearing the end of the Pokémon battle.

My friends and I followed the path to the right of the Pokémon centre.

It was denser than the path to get to the Pokémon centre from the beach, there were also no breaks of sunlight from the canopy that shielded us from the sky, but it was definitely cool. It wasn't too hot or too cold.

There were twisted roots above the ground and fallen branches we had to navigate over. I looked behind me to make sure I didn't lose any of my friends.

As soon as the path ended there was a stream with stepping stones that were on the same level as the waters surface. We had to cross the stream to continue on the path that continued on the opposite side of the stream.

I crossed carefully, the stream wasn't that deep, it would probably reach a little beyond my ankles, but I didn't fancy getting wet, not today.

Some of the stepping stones were awkwardly shaped.

I reached the path the opposite side and waited for my friends to cross.

No-one had trouble getting across. I didn't know if anyone had bothered to make this journey, or if they had, but it was too treacherous, if it did get treacherous I wondered where it got treacherous.

As of this moment we only had a few obstacles in the dense forest of sorts, with the twisted roots and fallen branches.

We continued through the second part of the forest before we came to a cliff face. There was only one way to go and that was up. It was a little far, but there were a few overhanging rocks that looked pretty secure, maybe this was the part that people stopped at and didn't continue.

My friends didn't seem to back down at this obstacle, I felt like this was a reckless move, but if my friends were determined as I was, then this cliff would not stop me, besides I had Charizard and Camilla had Fearow if anything went wrong.

I let Charizard out and Camilla let out Fearow, they were going to make sure to catch us if any of us fell.

Camilla gave Cubone to Fearow, so she could scale the cliff.

I wanted to tackle this cliff as if I didn't have Pokémon to help me.

I looked up and the top seemed so far away. I was hesitant to climb this for a matter of reasons. One was that I didn't feel like falling. I trusted Charizard as much as my other Pokémon and I knew he would catch all of my friends, not just me. Two was that I wondered if I would be able to get a grip on any of the crevices in the cliff or handles on the irregular part of the cliff that jutted out. I did know that my friends and I needed to find nurse Joy and take her back.

I started to climb the cliff, sometimes it was hard to find somewhere to put my hand, but I eventually found a place to grab to help me elevate myself from my current position.

I didn't dare look down. I may have fallen. I would have wanted to see how my friends were faring against this colossal obstacle, but I would have to wait until we all reached the top.

It took a couple of minutes, but eventually I reached the top. I looked at my hands and saw that they were red. They did hurt a little when I grabbed for an irregular rock that jutted from the cliff face.

I didn't need any of the overhanging platforms that were at irregular intervals up the cliff.

I reached the top and sat down waiting for my friends to reach the top.

The second person to reach the top was Leaf, she was completely worn out, she laid down as soon as I helped her up the last part.

Camilla was close behind her, she stayed standing, but needed to catch her breath.

Tracey was the last to reach the top. He wasn't as worn out as the rest of us.

'Well, that was a new experience.' He commented.

I returned Charizard as Camilla called back Fearow.

Leaf slowly sat up.

'That was hard, I could hardly find anything to hang onto.' Leaf replied.

I didn't know how hard it was for my friends. In my own experience I would not like to try that again. I agreed with Leaf more than Tracey, sure, it was a new experience, but it was harder more than an experience I would have liked to encounter.

'Well, we can't stay here for too long, we need to find nurse Joy.' Camilla reminded us.

I was all for that. I was really eager to get as far away from this cliff face as I could.

Did this nurse Joy enjoy adrenaline full activities? She seemed as if she liked the thrill, a lot more than I thought someone like her would.

My friends and I walked across the top of the cliff, it slowly turned back to grass and up ahead I saw a figure with a black hooded cloak and a few grass Pokémon surrounded it.

The figure with the cloak was talking to the Pokémon in a hushed tone, I couldn't hear them, but the way the Pokémon were reacting meant they were happy.

'Hello.' I said.

The hooded figure turned towards us.

The figure didn't move or take the hood down to reveal who they were.

'Could you help us?' I asked.

The hooded figure held out a hand and used two fingers in gesture as if giving us permission to come closer.

'Have you seen nurse Joy anywhere?' I asked.

'No.' The voice said.

The voice was female, so we knew that the hooded figure was a girl, and she seemed more mysterious than Lance was when I met him. Although he was the Pokémon league champion, that was quite a shock.

'Apparently, she is not in the Pokémon centre, we were wondering if you might have seen her.' Leaf added.

'I haven't seen her, sorry.' The girl replied.

'Could you help us?' I asked.

'Believe me, I would love to help you, but my ankle.' The girl said.

'Would you like me to look at it?' Tracey asked.

He didn't wait for a reply. He lifted up the cloak.

This girl was wearing white slip on shoes, they looked a little like plimsols.

He took of her right shoe and saw that her right ankle was red and a little swollen.

'How did you hurt it?' Tracey asked.

'I slipped climbing up the trail and managed to limp here before it got too much for me to walk on it.' The girl replied.

There was trail to up here? I thought, we could have saved all that trouble climbing a cliff and taken the safe route to this clearing.

How did we miss the trail to this clearing?

I looked at my friends. We all exchanged confused looks.

'Trail?' Leaf asked.

'Yes, the trail over there.' The girl pointed behind her.

There was indeed a trail not far behind her, I wonder where the other part of that trail came out at.

'What did you slip on?' Tracey asked. He was wrapping up the ankle with a bandage.

'There were some steps as it was a steep climb.' The mystery girl replied. 'Some of the steps were loose. I lost my footing and twisted my ankle, so I have been here for the last few days.'

'How have you fended for yourself?' I asked.

'The Pokémon here have been helping me, they have been gathering food, such as berries for me. They also manage to get water for me to drink also, they are very reliable Pokémon.' This mystery girl replied.

I was baffled at this, I trusted my Pokémon, but these Pokémon were wild. I don't remember a wild Pokémon that would help people.

I knew wild Pokémon were nice, I would respect wild Pokémon if they had no intention to get caught because of some previous experiences, but otherwise I didn't think wild Pokémon were all that nice, especially not for no reason.

'Can we ask who you are?' Camilla asked.

'I don't see how it would make much difference?' The girl replied.

 _Much difference?_ I thought. It would be nice to know a name especially if we were going to be stuck here, or save her.

'I just thought it would be nice to know the name of the person we're helping.' Camilla replied.

'Can I get your names?' The mystery girl asked.

I supposed that was fair, if we want to know what her name was, it was fair that she should get to know the names of the people who found and saved her.

'I am Jordan Hale, and this is Pikachu.' I told her.

'I'm Camilla Foster and this is my Pikachu and Cubone.' Camilla replied.

'My name is Leaf Green.'

'And I am Tracey Sketchit.'

My friends had all introduced themselves, so now I hoped we would get her name.

'I suppose that's fair.' The girl said.

She took down her hood and I instantly recognised her.

No-one had that style or colour of her hair.

'Nurse Joy?' My friends and I asked in shock and unison.

'No wonder you had not been able to get back to the Pokémon centre.' Leaf said.

'Also, now we know why it was chaotic in there.' Camilla added.

'What?' Nurse Joy asked.

'The people in the Pokémon centre have created chaos, overpowering Chansey.' I replied.

'Oh, my poor Chansey. I promised her I would be back in a few hours, but I lost my footing and was unable to return.' Nurse Joy said.

It was quite ironic, a nurse with an injury.

'We can get you back within a few minutes.' I replied.

'You can?' She asked.

'We can?' My friends asked in unison.

'Rapidash, Leaf.' I told her.

'Oh yeah, Rapidash can get you there within a few minutes.' Leaf agreed.

'You'd really help me?' Nurse Joy asked.

'You need to get back the Pokémon centre, and that Pokémon centre needs a nurse Joy.' I said.

Leaf let out her Rapidash, and Tracey helped nurse Joy up onto her back.

Rapidash sped up on the way to the Pokémon centre and within seconds was out of sight.

'Well that was quite an adventure.' I commented.

My friends agreed, with nods.

We all made our way back to the Pokémon centre, but took the safer route, it took a little longer, but we eventually managed to get back to the Pokémon centre with no trouble.

Leaf's Rapidash was waiting outside.

Leaf returned her Pokémon and we made our way inside.

There was no line anymore, in fact everyone was sitting down at a table or at a phone.

Nurse Joy was behind the counter.

We walked up to her.

'Thanks for the help.' She said. 'I won't forget this. 'As a thank you how about I heal your Pokémon?' Nurse Joy asked.

We gave her our Pokéball's and Pokémon and they were taken behind by Chansey.

'You're welcome. We would help anyone in trouble….' Leaf said.

'…speaking of which.' I said looking at Camilla.

'Okay, okay.' She replied giving up.

She went toward the phone and went to call my uncle.

Leaf and Tracey looked at me.

'It's not my place to tell you. If Camilla wants to share, she will tell you.' I replied.

Leaf looked at me. I knew she knew what I was talking about.

I knew Camilla would tell Leaf about what was happening.

'How bad?' I mouthed.

Leaf couldn't find the words, but the expression on her face said it was pretty bad, if it affected Camilla this much I was glad she was talking to my uncle.

She made her dream seem like it was nothing that I should be concerned about, but Leaf had given me a different version.

We found ourselves at an empty table.

Leaf and Tracey started to talk animatedly about more Pokémon information, would they ever run out?

I looked over to Camilla. She was talking to my uncle.

She glanced in my direction, then as soon as she met my eyes she turned back.

I didn't know if she was feeling okay about talking to my uncle or if it helped, but if anyone could help it was either him or my father, but my father was busy in a different region.

Camilla came off of the phone and the ding signalled that our Pokémon had been restored to full health.

We all went up.

'Pika.' Pikachu shouted as he jumped on my shoulder.

'You feel better bud?' I asked.

He nodded with some enthusiasm.

I clipped the rest of my Pokéball's to my belt.

I wanted to talk to Camilla about the conversation, but she looked a little sad, so I wouldn't push her.

'Leaf, can I talk to you?' Camilla asked.

A girl talk. I knew they would want space. I would stay back, and I knew Tracey would also.

Both Camilla and Leaf went to the accommodations.

Tracey and I went back to the table, I would give the girls space until one of them came out and let us join them.

Today we had another adventure and we had been distracted most of the day by it.

I was glad we saved nurse Joy. Mostly it was Tracey and Leaf, but I suggested we save her and Camilla was the one who wanted to know who she was.

Nurse Joy didn't go rouge like I initially thought, instead she had injured herself and had managed to keep herself alive with the help of wild Pokémon. I knew those Pokémon that helped her must have been timid at first, but Nurse joy was known for taking care of and handling many, many Pokémon each and every day.

'Jordan.' I heard Leaf call.

I turned and faced her.

'Camilla wants to talk to you…alone.' Leaf told me.

She had a confused expression on her face.

I got up as Leaf made her way to the table. If Camilla wanted to speak to me alone then this must have been serious.

As soon as I got to our room I knocked on the door.

'Come in.' Camilla said.

I entered and closed the door behind me.

'Hey, Jordan. We have a lot to talk about.'

These words made me a little nervous.

 **Hey, here is chapter 8, it is out a little later than I initially wanted, but I got it out nevertheless. What do you think Camilla needs to talk to Jordan about? Next chapter will be a lot more eventful than this one. Camilla will find a new dream to pursue, an OC will make a second appearance. I wonder if you will recognise them from a previous chapter. I hoped you liked this chapter. Next one should be out soon, I hope that it won't take as long as this one did.**

 **Chapter Nine: Rivalry from Somewhere New.**


	9. Rivalry from Somewhere New

**Disclaimer: Pokémon, Pokémon, Pokémon… oh right. I don't own Pokémon.**

 **Thanks to DRD for beta-ing this chapter.**

 **This chapter is dedicated to Shslcardiologist.**

Rivalry from Somewhere New

'Why don't you sit down?' Camilla asked me.

She was making me nervous, but I sat down on my bed, opposite hers.

I knew that Camilla wanted to talk, but she looked reluctant, like telling me would break our friendship or something.

'What do you want to know first?' She asked.

I knew exactly what she was asking me. There were three things that I could have asked her. One: What was her last dream about? Two: What did she and my uncle talk about? Three: Why did she cringe at her last name?

Those three things pulled at my mind, and I had been eager to ask one that that had been bugging me the most, for the longest time.

'Why do you cringe at your last name?' I asked.

'That first?' She asked rhetorically, she sighed. I knew she was reluctant to talk about anything, but she asked me what I wanted to know.

'As you know I live in Pewter City and have done my whole life.' Camilla started.

I nodded in confirmation.

'What you don't know is I have a dark past with Team Rocket.' Camilla said.

This shocked me, my mouth opened agape.

In the year I had known Camilla she had never mentioned this, she had a quarrel with Team Rocket?

'What?' I asked.

'They don't remember, because I was so young then, and I look very different.' Camilla explained.

'Camilla, I have disbanded Team Rocket, well I think I have. And this never came up?' I asked.

'Jordan, please let me explain.' Camilla urged me to listen.

I didn't say anymore. I had asked her to tell me about it, but already it baffled me. The amount of times we ran into team Rocket, the amount of times she kept quiet.

'But I remember everything.' She started. 'I was three years old and Team Rocket was starting to come into the light after being disbanded by your dad.' Camilla explained. 'My family had moved from Viridian before I was born, they didn't want a baby being brought into a world of crime, but Team Rocket was growing rapidly. After Giovanni promised to disband team Rocket for good he slowly came back to power, going back on the word he swore to Red.' Camilla said. 'I have a feeling he is doing it again. I think he is going to bring back Team Rocket, better than ever.' Camilla told me.

At the moment, I was still trying to process that Camilla had a quarrel with Team Rocket, but she was shovelling buckets of information on me. It was hard for me to take it all in.

I didn't dare interrupt her though.

'My parents and I were close, extremely close.'

I was going to say that she seemed close when we met them.

'Team Rocket found out that my father had stopped working for them when he found my mother, but my mother loved him anyway, he had stopped and didn't want anything to do with Team Rocket. That's why they moved to Pewter.' Camilla continued. 'My father thought that by moving to another city, further away, Team Rocket wouldn't find him. One day when I was walking home with one of my friends and their parents we were stopped by a man in a black suit and black fedora hat. He told my friends parents that he would take me home. They thought it was a nice gesture and thought nothing else of it.' Camilla explained.

This seemed like the part where a story had a twist as Camilla's voice got a little quieter.

'The man asked me where my home was, so I showed him the way. The man knocked on my door. My father opened it, and then he immediately shut it. The man who walked me home, grabbed the scruff of my neck tightly, he bargained with my life to get my dad's cooperation. My dad opened the door, and the man put me down and I rushed inside. My mother embraced me as soon as I reached her while my dad talked with the man at the door. My dad told me he had to go help this man. I found out he was Giovanni. My dad took my mother and I with him, surprisingly Giovanni agreed. I didn't know why at the time. My dad helped Giovanni so many times. I can't remember what he did, but Giovanni told my dad to tell us it was important. I hardly ever got to see my dad. A few months after my dad helped Giovanni he said we could go home soon as he had almost finished. I was happy that we would be able to go back home and forget this.' Camila explained.

Camilla looked down and I saw she started to shake, I knew something bad was going to happen, she was going to say something that changed the entire story. I knew Team Rocket were bad, but Camilla shouldn't be shaking that badly, it didn't sound like a bad story, it sounded like there was going to be a happy ending, especially since Camilla was now living with her family.

'The day my family and I were due to go back we were put into a room to say our farewells, I didn't know why we would want to, but it was at the request of Giovanni, so my dad had to oblige. The door was left open, so we could leave as soon as the farewells were done with. Giovanni said goodbye to both my parents and shot them before I knew what was happening. They fell to the ground and I screamed. I ran screaming, I didn't understand what had happened, but I ran screaming as loud as I could. None of Team Rocket was able to catch me. I ran out of Viridian and arrived in Pewter. At three years old I had witnessed both my parent's deaths right in front of me.' Camilla said, she was now in tears.

I couldn't believe…no I could believe that Team Rocket would do that, but to a three-year-old girl? I knew that there was no-one as evil as Giovanni, you couldn't get any worse than that man.

Wait how did this work out, Camilla was living with her parents now, wasn't she?

'In Pewter two adults found me crying and alone, they took me in and took care of me, and ever since I've been living with them. Their last name is Brandson. My parents last name was Brook. The reason I have my last name as Foster is because I am a Foster child.' Camilla told me.

This all made sense now, it was really dark, and I hated that Camilla had a bad childhood, I'm just glad that she had met my friends and I when she did. I understood why she left on a journey when she did.

'I cringe at the name Foster because it reminds me that I am a Foster child and that my parents died at the hands of Team Rocket.' Camilla told me, she was crying out loud right now.

I got up and sat next to her and cave her a comforting cuddle, she just cried into my embrace, she stained my chest with her tears, but I didn't care.

I now finally understood, why she disliked her last name.

What I didn't understand was how she stayed so calm every time we ran into Team Rocket, she was so calm and kept her anger under control. Not like me. I made rash decisions around Team Rocket. She must have hated every single person who ever worked for them, especially Giovanni. If I was in her position I would. I was being so selfish when I battled Team Rocket. Camilla had the right to do whatever she wanted with them.

Camilla cried for a further five minutes until she started calming down.

'I'm so sorry, Camilla.' I apologised.

I finished the embrace and sat back to look at her. I would never see her the same.

I now just realized that Camilla was the strongest person mentally and probably physically also, she had been through so much and she was still standing strong.

I wasn't apologizing for the death of her family. I was apologizing for every reckless thing I had done on our journey, not just with Team Rocket but whatever reckless thing I did. I also apologised for dying when I did. I apologized for everything that I did that might have upset her or didn't go her way or when I didn't listen to her.

I was glad Camilla trusted me with this. It was her deepest, darkest secret and I think I was the only one that knew, that means she trusted me with her best hidden secret. I would never tell anybody, no matter how much they asked, no matter who they were to me. I wouldn't even tell my mum or dad, this would be a secret I would take with me to the grave and I showed Camilla the promise in my eyes.

She finally looked better ten minutes later.

'So…' Camilla started. 'What do you want to know next? She asked.

'Camilla, at the moment, I don't care about anything else.' I said.

'And my ESP?' she asked.

'That was before.' I retorted.

'Jordan, I don't want you to treat me any differently.' Camilla said.

How could I not, this was absolutely massive that it could even change my life, not just hers.

'Do you not want to know about my dream?' Camilla asked.

'Not today, can you tell me tomorrow?' I asked.

She shrugged, I went to sit back on my bed.

I sighed heavily, going through what had happened to Camilla.

Right now, I needed to sleep. I was tired from today and my brain needed to process Camilla's past before I could take on tomorrow.

I looked to Camilla, but she was already asleep.

I went out into the lobby and let Leaf and Tracey know they were now allowed into our rooms.

'That took ages, Jordan.' Leaf commented.

'Yeah.' Tracey agreed, what the hell were you two talking about?' Tracey asked.

'You're going to turn into us.' Leaf joked.

I managed a half-hearted chuckle as they followed me into our room.

I got into bed quickly, I didn't feel like talking, I felt like sleeping.

 _I was standing on a stage in front of thousands of people, every single one of them looked confused._

 _I saw someone who I didn't recognize, who was standing up and looking in horror at me._

 _Slowly the faces in the crowd turned from confusion into horror._

 _I looked behind me and saw there were a few people behind me looking at me in horror, but one person was looking at me in a comforting way._

 _This person was wearing a green dress, she looked a few years older than me, her blonde hair fell to her shoulders in curls._

' _Jordan?' The girl asked._

 _Was that my name, was my name Jordan?_

 _At the moment, I had no recollection, all I could think of was rage, complete and utter rage._

 _This girl didn't seem to care that rage was on my mind, all she cared about was me, she said my name, well apparently it was my name._

 _I heard hundreds of screams and saw the thousands of people started to run in a chaotic fashion._

 _This made me smile, why did this please me, why did making people scream in terror and run around frantically make me pleased?_

 _What was happening to me?_

 _I had never been like this. I had been another person, but I couldn't recall how I was. My mind pushed that thought out of my head and it floated away, all I had left was pleasure, pleasure from making people terrified on the person I am now. Nothing was going to change who I was now and that was terrific news to hear. I would become the most feared person in he world, no-one would dare to come near me._

' _Jordan?' The girl asked again._

 _I turned around to look at this girl. She was the only one who looked at me with a pleading look._

 _I felt a small tug of something somewhere inside me, but it vanished quickly, and I completely forgot about it._

 _Everyone else behind her had faces of horror, or disbelief._

 _It's like the peoples screams and yells of horror was like a drug to me, like I couldn't get enough, once this stadium was clear I would exit outside and cause terror to the whole city._

 _I looked down and saw that my hands wore outlined with black and a red pulsing small fire enveloped by bodies outline._

 _I saw great power and destruction in me._

 _I looked up and willed my power to blast a whole in the roof._

 _I felt a hand touch my left shoulder._

'Jordan!' Someone yelled.

I woke up in a sweat.

Camilla was looking at me with concern.

'Are you okay?' She asked. 'You were shaking and scaring all of us.'

'Bad dream.' I replied.

Camilla raised an eyebrow.

'I'm fine.' I assured her. I didn't want her to worry about my dream, plus I didn't want to add anything to her plate, she already had enough things on there to worry about.

'Get dressed, and meet us in the lobby, we need to get going.' Camilla told me.

As soon as she was out I ripped off the covers scaring Pikachu nearly half to death, he glared at me.

'Sorry bud.' I apologized.

He and I really weren't in sync when waking up. The amount of times we'd been together I thought that would be one thing that we would both be in sync with. We were both in sync with battling, so why was waking up so much harder?

I got dressed quickly, slung my bag on, and strapped my Pokéball belt to my waist.

Pikachu jumped on my shoulder and we made our way to the lobby where my friends were waiting.

The lobby was almost packed, completely different to the one on Mikan island, it wasn't this busy yesterday.

I wondered if there was something big happening in this Pokémon centre.

Sure, Nurse Joy had been brought back yesterday, by yours truly, and my friends, but I didn't think that the Pokémon centre would be packed because of that fact. This must be something else.

It was so packed I couldn't see my friends. I wondered if they were even sitting at a table. There were loads of people standing, up, most were in groups, some people had a few Pokémon out, some were grooming them. I managed to push past people and thankfully my friends were sitting at a table.

'What the heck is all this?' I asked sitting beside Camilla.

'Apparently, a powerful Pokémon trainer is arriving on this island today, and their first destination is the Pokémon centre.' Leaf said.

A powerful Pokémon trainer? This was great news, another battle. I hadn't had many on this Orange Island journey. I wanted another one. All my Pokémon needed a battle, not just my Pikachu and Blastoise. Although Blastoise wasn't really involved in a battle, he still gained some experience.

'And all these people are here to meet this Pokémon trainer?' I asked.

'I guess so.' Leaf replied.

'Jordan, just think of how many people competed in the Pokémon league.' Camilla reminded me.

I remembered that those Pokémon centres held hundreds of people, hundreds upon hundreds, A single Pokémon centre could probably hold about one-hundred and fifty, if it was choco-blocked.

This Pokémon centre wasn't, so there was a few less. I then understood Camilla. I wasn't the only one in his region who liked to battle strong trainers.

'So, any idea on when they should get here?' I asked. I was really eager to meet this powerful Pokémon trainer.

'Just sometime today.' Tracey replied.

That wasn't exactly what I was hoping for, just sometime today.

That could be any second now, the middle of the day, or nearer to the night.

I was debating on whether we should stay or go, I did not like waiting, especially if it was going to take long. Maybe my friends and I should leave, I was eager to get to the next Gym challenge, I wanted to take on the second challenge from the Orange Crew, but I also wanted to meet this powerful trainer.

This powerful trainer may be a once in a lifetime guarantee, but the Orange Island Challenge would still be here tomorrow.

I eventually decided to stay here.

'What do you think they'll be like?' Leaf asked.

'Wait Guys.' I interrupted. 'Why are you guys here?' I asked.

They looked a little offended.

'Sorry, I meant why are we still in here waiting for this powerful Pokémon trainer?' I asked. 'If this wasn't happening we would be on our way to the next island.' I said. 'If I wasn't here what would you guys being doing here?' I asked.

That was a better way of putting it.

'Jordan, I would be here because there are so many different Pokémon facts here and different variations in Pokémon I had never seen before, no way would I pass this up.' Leaf replied.

'I would be sketching Pokémon and learning more about how to help them. Including their health and making sure they could the best of their abilities.' Tracey replied.

Camilla glared at me for a fraction of a second. I knew her reason, but she couldn't tell Leaf and Tracey, so she had to make something up.

'Ever since I was younger I've wanted to explore the world, and being here is helping me achieve that.' Camilla said. 'Exploring the world is all I've ever dreamed about, but being with my own Pokémon has made the experience even greater.' She said.

Her lie was definitely convincing, even to me, and I knew the truth about her leaving home.

'Okay, everyone, listen up!' I heard a girl yell.

Everyone turned. I saw a girl I vaguely recognized at the front of the Pokémon centre. I just couldn't put a name to her, or remember how I knew her.

Her skin was quite pale, she had long blonde hair that fell to her waist, two strands of hair had pink bows in them, they were on either side of her face, both strands of hair fell over her shoulders while the other part of her hair cascaded down her back. She had striking red eyes, they were startling and extremely intimidating. She had a pink and blue hair clip on the left side of her hair pinning her hair behind her ear. She had a white non-sleeved shirt that had the top button undone and her collar was unkempt, she had a white notebook in her left hand, a pen was clipped to the notebook. On top of her second button was a light blue bow tie. The hem of her shirt was also a light blue. She had a black short skirt and the bottom was pink and frilly. She had black stockings that covered her knee and between that and her skirt she was showing off her leg. Her shoes were pink high-heels.

'The powerful Pokémon trainer is standing before you.' The girl said, extending her arms.

She obviously meant herself.

I heard a few laughs in the Pokémon centre.

A few people walked out, and this girl didn't nothing to stop them. She smiled as they left.

'Anyone in disbelief feel free to leave.'

Almost half of the people left. I heard mumbling about a waste of time.

I didn't get up. This girl definitely looked like she had some power, she held pride and confidence in her voice, powerful Pokémon trainers had that. I remember Lance had that in his voice and he was the Indigo League champion.

I wasn't judging this girl.

I believe the rest of you are happy to meet a fellow Pokémon trainer?' This girl guessed. 'I also presume you want to battle me?' She asked. 'Why don't you follow me outside?' She suggested.

Once I was outside I saw two boys were fighting the right to stand in the Pokémon box.

'Boys!' This girl called to them. They immediately stopped. 'If you two are so immature and rash to battle me, then you can both leave.' The girl said.

They both looked at the girl in shock.

'Shoo.' She said with such authority that I would have ran away like a little girl. She used her hands in a motion that helped her statement. Pushing in the direction of the boys with the back of her hands.

The boys almost fell over as they ran away.

'Can you all stand in a line on the outline of this clearing please?' The girl asked. 'Anyone who fails to do so will join them.' She said. She used her authority voice on the last two words, a few people ran away.

The girl smiled.

'This makes this so much easier.' She looked at us. 'What are you waiting for?' She asked. 'A formal information. Get to it.' She said.

A few people including my friends and I stood around the clearing.

Some people stood in front of the Pokémon centre, they didn't move, and didn't look fazed by this girl's words.

'She walked up to the small group.

'Who's your leader?' The girl asked, as if these people followed, two of the five people felt obligated to point to the boy in the middle, these people were taller and older than the girl.

'So, you're the big gun, huh?' The girl asked.

The man just nodded.

The girl spent a few second whispering into the man's ear.

The man looked shocked before backing up a few steps.

His friends looked at him in disbelief.

'Let's g-go guys.' He stuttered.

His friends and he left.

This girl broke down a guy who was a few years older than Brock.

She just seemed to get more powerful every time people left.

She smiled again as if she like less people to deal with.

'Now, as you have all seen, people who don't listen will eventually leave, you are the ones who are either scared to leave or believe that I am actually a powerful trainer.'

In fact, I was both scared to leave and thought she was a powerful trainer.

'Unfortunately, for most of you, you will also be leaving. I am looking for only one person.' The girl said. 'I am looing for a rival. I haven't had a good rival in ages, my battles have been boring, I'm looking for a trainer who can match or beat me.' This girl continued.

I admired her expectations.

I also agreed with her, if I won every battle I would get bored, what would be the point in battling. Well winning wouldn't get boring, if it was too easy it would get boring.

She was becoming less scary and more like the perfect rival, she has exactly the same expectations as me.

'If I tap you please leave with your group, if you are alone please leave, I am anything if not reasonable. I will tell you why I tapped you before you leave. If you do not accept my reason you can go and sit in the Pokémon centre, now I may or may not enter there after this.' This girl said.

This was a weird way to find a rival, but i couldnt really complain, this was her way, I had a different way, but this girl was a little unorthodox at finding a rival, just like I was unorthodox at battling.

She tapped a few people, some people just left, but some stayed to find out why they didn't get to be her rival.

Soon there were only two groups left my friends and I and a group that were about the same age as the girl, we were quite close to each other, maybe a few meters.

The girl tapped one of their shoulders.

'Thankyou, but I just feel that your confidence has dropped since we met.' The girl said.

The group went inside the Pokémon centre.

'You are the last group.' The girl said. It sounded like a statement and not a question.

'We've met before.' I said.

'So, you do remember me. I was beginning to think you forgot.' The girl said.

'I recognised you.' I started. 'I cannot remember why I remembered you.'

'You did forget me?' The girl asked. She seemed a little sad upon that fact.

'I remember you!' Camilla exclaimed.

The girl seemed a little taken back by this, so was I, Camilla certainly surprised me.

'You do?' The girl asked, as soon as she got over the shock of Camilla's exclamation.

'Yes. You are the girl who tod us about the Lapras migration on Tangelo Island.' Camilla replied.

Now I remembered, she helped us reunite Lapras with its family because she told us about the Lapras migration.

'Thank you for that, Lapras was reunited with its family.' Leaf said.

'I'm glad.' The girl replied.

'We couldn't have done it without you.' Tracey added.

The girl seemed to blush in embarrassment.

That was odd, she seemed so confident earlier, and now she was acting all shy.

'You guys are making me blush, I only pointed you in the right direction.' The girl replied.

'You're acting really shy now, you seemed so confident earlier.' Camilla commented.

'Yeah, that's not something I usually do, I am never that confident, normally I am the opposite, but I've had a rush of adrenalin recently. It made me act out that way, normally I am really reserved.' The girl replied.

'I want to ask you a question.' Camilla stated to the girl.

'Fine...' The girl sighed as if she knew it would eventually come to this. 'My name is Akari Janarisuto and I am fourteen years old.' The girl said.

I knew she looked a little older than me, but she was a year younger than Brock was.

I introduced myself next.

'My name is Jordan Hale. I am eleven. This is Pikachu.' I said gesturing to Pikachu on my shoulder.

Pikachu gave a thumbs up.

'My name is Leaf Green. I am also eleven.'

'I am Tracey Sketchit. I am thirteen.' Tracey said.

'Camilla Foster. I am eleven, this is Pikachu and Cubone, but that's not what I was going to ask.' Camilla replied.

'Oh, what were you going to ask?' Akari asked.

'Could I have a Pokémon battle with you, right now?' Camilla asked.

Again, I was shocked and so was Akari, Leaf and Tracey were also shocked.

'Um…sure, I guess so.' Akari replied. 'But I only have three Pokémon.' Akari replied.

'You made yourself out to be a Pokémon trainer, I want you to prove it.' Camilla said.

Camilla was acting extremely confident. I had never seen this side of her. I wondered if Camilla would be able to beat Akari. I didn't know how long Akari had been training for. I also didn't know if she had as much experience as Camilla had. Camilla had fully evolved Pokémon, except her Pikachu, but she didn't want to evolve it. Her Cubone was also still a baby.

Camilla gave me Cubone and she went to stand on one side of the battlefield. I knew exactly how to care for Cubone, I had done it with Dratini, although Dratini had a shorter time as a baby than Cubone had. I didn't think it was much different.

Both Akari and Camilla stood at either side of the battlefield.

'I'll referee.' Leaf piped up.

Leaf stood to the side at the middle of the field.

'This battle will be between Camilla Foster and Akari Janarisuto. Both trainers will have the use of three Pokémon. The battle will end when one trainer has no more Pokémon to fight.'

Leaf was a natural at refereeing Pokémon battles.

'Fearow, light the stage.' Camilla called out, sending out her first Pokémon.

'Totodile, you're up.' Akari said, sending out a Pokémon I had not seen before

This Pokémon looked like a blue crocodile that was standing uprights. It had red spines on its back and tail. The middle spine on its back is larger than the other spines. Totodile's head is quite large compared to the rest of its body. It has ridges above its eyes. Most of Totodile's head is composed of Totodile's snout and strong jaws. There are two teeth on the tip of its upper jaw, and two rows of three teeth on each side of its lower jaw. On its chest is a yellow, V-shaped pattern that extends to its arms. Totodile has five sharp claws and three toes. Its eyes are red and surrounded by a dark blue pattern.

Totodile danced about as soon as it entered the battle. It certainly seemed like a playful Pokémon.

I took out my Pokédex to scan it.

' _No data available.' The Pokédex._

Another one, I inwardly groaned.

'That's another native Pokémon to Johto.' Tracey told me. 'Totodile is only found in Johto. It is extremely rare, even in Johto. It is also one of the starter Pokémon given by the professor of that region. It is a water type Pokémon and is the first Pokémon in its evolution chain. You know, Jordan, I think the reason your Pokédex doesn't record data on Johto Pokémon is because it needs to be updated, that way you could scan every Pokémon.' Tracey explained to me. I guessed Tracey was right, but who would I talk to about upgrading my Pokédex? Maybe professor Oak could help, next time I had the chance I would talk to him.

'Fearow, use hurricane.' Camilla said.

'Counter with Ice beam.' Akari responded.

Fearow whipped up hurricane, but Totodile, use Ice bean and the collision caused the ice to break and it hit Fearow.

I knew this was bad as, flying Pokémon were weak to ice type moves. I had learned not to say Pokémon, because most trainers had a move that was not of the same typing as their Pokémon. That was the case here with Totodile, a water type Pokémon learning an ice type move.

'Ice beam again.' Akari called out before Camilla and Fearow could recover.

'Brave bird.' Camilla countered.

Unfortunately, Camilla and Fearow were too late as before Fearow could counter it was frozen in a block of ice. Akari's Totodile was extremely strong.

Camilla had underestimated it. I think we all had.

Now Camilla would have to wait for the ice to thaw before she could again use Fearow, this didn't seem to be a problem for Akari, she was glad that Fearow was frozen solid, now she had the advantage.

I knew Camilla was still staying calm, she still had other strong Pokémon, even if Fearow fainted before Totodile, Camilla had Pokémon that could turn this match around.

'Great, Totodile. Now's our chance, use scary face.' Akari said.

Totodile made a scary face toward the frozen Fearow.

I didn't know if the move had any effect or what the effect of scary face was, but I didn't have to wonder for long.

'That's a good strategy.' Tracey said.

'Huh?' I asked.

'Akari, is using scary face, while Camilla's Fearow is frozen. Scary face is a move that sharply lowers a Pokémon's speed, as soon as Fearow thaws out, it will be so slow that any move Akari uses is almost guaranteed to hit, Camilla hasn't got much chance of winning against the Totodile, at least not with Fearow.' Tracey explained.

It definitely seemed hopeless for Camila's Fearow now.

'Totodile, continue using scary face.' Akari said.

Totodile didn't stop with the scary faces towards Fearow. I was worried how slow that Fearow would move as soon as it thawed out.

After a few more scary faces Fearow finally thawed out from the ice block.

Camilla was ready to give a move immediately.

'Fearow, use acrobatics.'

Fearow flew up into the air

'Ice beam!' Akari called.

Before Fearow couldn't do anything, it was hit by ice beam and fell straight toward the ground.

As soon as Fearow hit the ground a massive dust cloud formed, but I could already predict the fate of Fearow.

Leaf waited until the dust cloud cleared.

'Fearow has fainted, the winner is Totodile.' Leaf announced.

Camilla returned Fearow before she debated on the next Pokémon she should use.

'Arcanine, next scene.'

Camilla sent out a Pokémon that was weak to Totodile.

'That's an interesting choice.' Tracey mused.

'Camilla's like that, she likes to challenge herself that way, she has a very interesting way of battling.' I replied.

'No, but she sent out an Arcanine against a Totodile, sure Arcanine is stronger, but it is weak to Totodile's typing, no-one knows what water moves the Totodile has.' Tracey replied.

'I'm sure Camilla is well prepared for anything that comes her way, Fearow was just the warm up. It does take her a while to get into battling, plus its been ages since she's had a battle, she might seem a bit rusty. Imagine how it would be if you hadn't drawn for ages, wouldn't you throw away so many sketches until you got it perfect?' I asked Tracey.

'You've got a point.' Tracey replied.

'Extreme speed.' Camilla said.

Before anyone could move Totodile had been moved from the spot it was originally in.

We all knew it had been hit by extreme speed.

I knew Camilla had something planned.

'Totodile, water gun.' Akari said.

'Agility, Arcanine' Camilla replied.

This reminded me of when Brock made Geodude roll away from my Squirtle's water gun in my first Gym battle.

I knew Camilla was planning something that would play to her advantage, she was speeding up her Arcanine. Arcanine was already a fast Pokémon, but Camilla was making it faster. I didn't know what she was planning, but I knew the smile she had meant she wasn't going to give up so easily.

The water gun hadn't touched Arcanine as it used agility.

'Extreme speed.' Camilla called.

This time we saw Totodile was on its back and it wasn't moving.

'Totodile has fainted, the winner is Arcanine.' Leaf said.

'So, now it's one a piece.' Tracey commented.

'Yes, but I bet they both have a lot of fight in them. This is good for Camilla, she's not battled in a while. I bet she's missed it.' I said.

'Did she like it?' Tracey asked.

'She loved battling, and she was great at it, seriously she was one of the best trainers I had ever met.' I replied.

'Was she good?' Tracey asked.

'Good?' I repeated. 'The first time we met was in a Château battle, she beat me in her first one, then she came on to be the runner up in the Battle Château Challenge in Kanto, she lost to my other friend, Rachel.' I told Tracey.

Akari returned Totodile and sent out her next Pokémon.

'Growlithe, you're up.' Akari called out.

This would be interesting a Growlithe battling its next evolution stage.

'Growlithe dig.' Akari called out immediately.

Akari was a good Pokémon trainer, sure she had lower level Pokémon, but she definitely had a strategy that would destroy anyone's Pokémon.

She had something that would counter Camilla's Pokémon. Her Totodile had an ice type move to use against Camilla's flying type and now she was using Growlithe's ground type move to counter Camilla's Arcanine's fire type.

'Arcanine beware, it could come out anywhere.' Camilla warned her Pokémon.

'Growlithe, dig.' Akari said.

Growlithe came up underneath Arcanine, which was unfortunate for Camilla.

Arcanine landed and it fell to the ground, but otherwise looked okay.'

'Growlithe leer.' Akari said.

'She is a very good strategic Pokémon trainer.' Tracey replied.

I agreed with him, she has used two moves that didn't cause damage to utilize her strengths. She used scary face with Totodile to lower Fearow's speed while it was frozen, now she had used leer to lower Arcanine's defence while she had time, while Arcanine was recovering from dig. She didn't rush into attacks, she took her time to win a battle and she didn't use Physical attacks while her opponents Pokémon were recovering, she used a move that would lower their stats or raise her own to give herself an advantage. She used them to utilize her strengths, so she would come out of the battle victorious. If Camilla wanted to come out the winner, then she would have to come up with something special to win.

'Flare Blitz.' Camilla said.

That was a good move to use, but it also wasn't that good of an idea.

Good: it was powerful, it would stop Growlithe using stat lowering moves.

Bad: It was a fire type move, so it wouldn't be that effective against Growlithe, despite its power, it had high recoil damage.

Arcanine enveloped itself in fire and sped towards Growlithe.

Akari had no time to respond and Growlithe was hit with the move. A huge gas cloud was created as the Pokémon connected.

Unlike the fate of Fearow this was harder to predict, both Pokémon could still be standing, both Pokémon could have fainted, or one could have taken the other out.

The cloud slowly disappeared, and we saw both Pokémon were still up, but both were really worn out.

The next move would decide the winner.

Akari was the first to react, she needed to show us that she was a strong trainer, she was determined to win.

'Quick attack.' She called.

Camilla couldn't react quick enough and the quick attack hit Arcanine.

Arcanine fell and we knew it had fainted, now Camilla only had one Pokémon left.

'Arcani…' Leaf started, but she stopped suddenly.

Growlithe also fell to the ground.

'Both Arcanine and Growlithe have fainted, this ends in a draw, the battle will be decided by the trainers last Pokémon.' Leaf said.

Leaf was really good at being a Pokémon battle referee.

'Pikachu, let's finish this.' Akari said.

Akari let out a male Pikachu.

I knew exactly who Camilla would use.

But Camilla didn't even need to call her Pokémon out.

Her Pikachu rushed onto the battlefield.

'Pikachu lets give the audience the thing that they came from, show them a real curtain call.' Camilla said.

'Use, quick attack' Akari said.

'Counter with a quick attack.' Camilla said.

Both Pokémon rushed toward the other at blinding speed.

They collided head on and they hit each other backwards. Both Pikachu looked fine after the first attack.

'Pikachu, headbutt.' Akari said.

This was not a move I had heard of, but I was pretty sure I knew exactly what it did.

At the same speed of quick attack Akari's Pikachu rushed toward Camilla's Pikachu and hit it with its head sending Camilla's Pikachu skidding back a few feet, but Camilla had a counter ready.

'Pikachu, use agility.' Camilla said.

Akari didn't need this, but she didn't seem faltered.

'Pikachu, thunderbolt.' Akari called.

'Pikachu.' Camilla said.

Camilla's Pikachu understood, it stuck its tail in the ground and raised itself above the ground.

The thunderbolt made a direct hit, but Camilla's Pikachu received no damage.

Akari looked shocked.

'Pikachu, use thunderbolt.' Camilla called.

Pikachu jumped onto the ground, took its tail out from the ground and jumped up releasing a thunderbolt.

Akari's Pikachu received more damage from the attack because Camilla's Pikachu had the thunderbolt from Akari's Pikachu coursing through it before it released its own attack.

'Quick attack.' Akari called.

'Quick attack.' Camilla called at exactly the same time.

Both Pokémon rushed head on at each other, and like before they pushed the other back.

Camilla didn't want this battle to go on much longer and neither did Akari, but none of them had a move that would cause the other to lose as quickly as they both wanted.

Both girls had the same idea.

'Thunderbolt!' They called in unison.

Both attacks met halfway, they both fought for dominance, both were equally matched, they each pushed each other around, both Pikachu couldn't let their guard down or else they would get hit by the attack.

It was now a battle for whoever could hold out for the longest.

Both Pikachu looked to be getting tired, but still neither of them gave up.

This was definitely a Pikachu battle, this was a contest for who had control over thunder.

Slowly Camilla's Pikachu had its attack slowly growing longer as Akari's Pikachu's thunderbolt attack was getting shorter.

I saw Akari's Pikachu was getting really tired.

Camilla's Pikachu perked up at this progression and this caused it to use more power, this sped up the movement of its thunderbolt.

Akari's Pikachu couldn't take it anymore and as soon as Camilla's Pikachu's thunderbolt hit Akari's Pikachu there was a large explosion that covered most of the battlefield.

I saw Camilla's Pikachu was breathing heavily, we only needed to wait for the verdict from the other side of the battlefield and this would determine the result of this battle.

Camilla's Pikachu looked like it was about to collapse, but it kept itself steady, it really was tired.

The cloud slowly disappeared, and we saw that Akari's Pikachu was on the floor not moving.

Leaf looked to Camilla's Pikachu, who was still standing strong.

'Akari's Pikachu is unable to battle. Camilla's Pikachu wins, This means the victor is Camilla Foster.'

Camilla again cringed at her name, but now I knew why.

Camilla's Pikachu collapsed.

Camilla went and Picked up her own Pikachu.

My friends and I want onto the battlefield.

'Well done Leaf, for your first time as a referee that was good.' I praised her.

Once we reached Camilla she looked happy.

'Congratulations, Camilla.' I congratulated her for her win.

'That felt good.' Camilla said.

'How long was it since you had a battle?' Leaf asked.

'Months and months.' Camilla replied.

Camilla the walked up to Akari who had just returned her Pikachu.

'Thank you, Camilla, that was the best battle I've had in ages.' Akari said.

'I'm glad you had fun.' Camilla said.

'Only way to have a battle.' Akari replied. 'Now I have a question for you.' Akari said.

'Yes.' Camilla replied.

'Yes?' Akari asked clearly confused.

'Yes. I would love to be your rival Akari.' Camilla responded.

Akari smiled.

'That was the question you were going to ask, right?' Camilla asked.

'Yes, it was.' Akari replied.

We followed both girls into the Pokémon centre, they needed to restore their Pokémon.

I still had Cubone as Camilla was carrying her Pikachu. Cubone was asleep now, maybe the watching its mummy battling was a lot of effort for it.

Both girls came to sit down at the table.

Camilla sat next to me and Akari sat next to Camilla, so she was sandwiched in between the two of us.

'So, Akari, what brings you to the Orange islands?' Leaf asked.

'Well, I had travelled my home region and found out that everyone I had battled with was weak that I could have as a rival, so I found out about the Orange islands. I decided to come and see if there were any strong trainers here, apparently I was right to come here as I found you four.' Akari explained.

'You definitely picked a strong trainer as your rival Akari.' I told her.

'Not as strong as you though.' Camilla remarked. 'You should battle Jordan, he is a really strong trainer, he'll give you a real challenge.' Camilla added.

'Maybe I will one day, but you are my rival Camilla, not Jordan.' Akari said.

I didn't mind that Camilla had a rival, it will keep her focused, plus I had a few rivals anyway, I didn't mind not having Akari as a rival.

'Akari what type of Pokémon trainer are you?' Tracey asked.

'A Pokémon coordinator, I take part in contests to see if my Pokémon are good enough to stand out against others, its one of the less violent roads for a Pokémon trainer. I do enjoy a battle every now and then though.' Akari told us.

'That sounds fun.' Camilla commented.

'Oh, it is, maybe you could compete in them. I know that there are some contests in a region somewhere, I might try that, you should try it to Camilla, you never know we may meet at one.' Akari said.

Despite being shy, Akari was one that liked to talk, especially if you got to know her.

'That sounds like a great idea Camilla, it could be a new dream of yours.' I said.

Camilla started to ponder over that.

'So where are you guys headed next?' Akari asked.

'Navel island, it is the destination of Jordan's second Gym challenge.' Tracey replied.

'How about I come with you? I hear Navel island is a good island to visit.' Akari asked.

'Sure, why not.' I replied.

The ding signalled and both Akari and Camilla went up to the counter and got their Pokémon back.

As soon as the girls came back the rest of us stood up.

I gave Camilla her Cubone back and we made our way out of the Pokémon centre.

 **Hey, guys, chapter 9 is now finished. I had fun writing this chapter, it is packed with a few things, and I hope you like the, big surprise at the start of the chapter and now Camilla has an official rival.**

 **Sorry to all those who wanted Akari to be Jordan's rival, but I did have a poll up, also I have another poll up at the moment.**

 **Camilla's dream will be explained in a later chapter if you wanted to know what it was about.**

 **This chapter is my longest of the Arc so far, but I'm unsure if it will be the longest in this Arc they may be a longer one, who knows. Anyway, until next time.**

 **Chapter Ten: A Navel Race**


	10. A Navel Race

**Disclaimer: Pokémon is owned by a company I do not have control over.**

 **Thankyou to DRD for proofreading this chapter.**

A Navel Race

The island had a huge mountain jutting out from the middle of it. I could not see the top, the clouds shielded the top from us.

The boat ride took a while, as it was late in the afternoon as soon as we stepped off the boat.

We thanked the captain as we started to get off, Akari had already fled and we could no longer see her.

I was glad that Camilla had a rival in Akari. It would be good, especially if she followed the same dream. Even if Camilla didn't, I knew they would still be rivals.

Akari said that she was in search for strong trainers, apparently that didn't stop with Camilla, she wanted more.

I was a little sad that Akari had picked Camilla as a rival over me, I would have loved to have another rival. Sure, I had a few already, but there was no harm in having more.

The battle that had occurred between Akari and Camilla was great. I never expected Akari to be that good at battling as a trainer. She had three Pokémon, all of which were not fully evolved. Each of those Pokémon was able to stand up to the strength and power of Camilla's Pokémon.

On the boat ride, Akari and Camilla gossiped loads. I instead decided to learn a few things from Tracey and Leaf, they taught me about Pokémon abilities, and the effects and outcomes they had. It was extremely helpful. I would definitely use some abilities in the battles I had if they would let me, some abilities were random, and you could never tell when they would take effect, while others would take effect at a specific time in the battle. I didn't expect there to be so many abilities.

My friends and I made our way into the town of the next island. We weren't in any hurry to find the Pokémon centre, but we would have to get there eventually.

I started to wonder where the Gym was on this island. I could ask Tracey tomorrow, he was the most likely to know, especially if he lived in the Orange Islands. But the location of the Gym was not important right now. It was too late for me to take on the Gym, I would attempt to take on the Gym challenge tomorrow.

I hoped it didn't take too long to find the Pokémon centre. I didn't want to be out searching when it started to get dark.

Today had been a good day for everyone. We made a new friend in Akari. We had watched Camilla battle, which is something she hadn't done in a while. I had learned things during the battle about the Pokémon that Akari had. I had also learned things from Leaf when we were on the boat.

That reminded me. I needed to talk to professor Oak about upgrading my Pokédex. At the moment it would not record Pokémon that were native to Johto, just like Tracey's Marill and Akari's Totodile.

We, thankfully found the Pokémon centre just as it started to get dark.

Tracey went to the counter and asked for a room key, Camilla and Leaf went to sit at one of the tables, whereas I made my way to the phones to contact professor Oak, this would be the first time I talked to him while I was in the Orange Islands.

After a few rings he picked up.

'Jordan, glad to hear from you.' He started.

'Hello, professor.' I greeted him.

'I heard from Felina that you are competing in the Orange League.' The professor said.

'Yes, I am.' I replied. 'I already have my first badge.' I said showing him my Coral-Eye badge.

'Congratulations, I'm sure you will do well.' The professor said. His confidence in me would encourage me for tomorrows challenge. 'Is that what you called for?' The professor asked.

'Actually, professor, recently I have encountered a few Pokémon that have no recorded data in my Pokédex.' I started. 'Tracey explained that the Pokémon I try to scan are not registering because they are native to Johto and my Pokédex only scans Pokémon that are native to Kanto.' I continued.

'Oh, I see.' The professor said. 'Unfortunately, seeing as I am not there, or you are not here I cannot upgrade your Pokédex. Although I will send one of my aides to the island you are on. You are on Navel Island, correct?' The professor asked.

I nodded in confirmation.

'My aide will be able to upgrade your Pokédexes if you just stay there for a few days.' The professor told me. 'As soon as that is done you should have no trouble in registering Pokémon that are native to Johto.' The professor explained.

'Okay, thank you, professor.' I replied.

'You're welcome, and good luck with the rest of your journey.' The professor said.

I nodded to him as tanks before he ended the call.

I sighed, now that that was taken care of I would be able to continue on my journey knowing that that problem had been resolved.

'Jordan?' Camilla asked, making me turn around to face her.

'Camilla?' I asked back. 'What's up?'

She had expression on her face hat looked a little troubled.

'Do you have a minute?' She asked me.

'Sure.' I replied.

Camilla headed to our room, not bothering to see that I was following behind her.

I knew Leaf and Tracey were still at the table.

As soon as she entered our room she took a seat on one of the beds. I instead took a seat on the other one.

She sighed before she started to talk.

'You asked me to tell you about my dream, so I guess now would be a good time.' Camilla said.

Was this the dream she talked to my uncle about?

I was about to protest, but before I could Camilla had already started her story.

'You looked older in my dream, about fourteen or fifteen.' Camilla told me.

Fourteen? I was only eleven, that was three years from now, especially if this was an ESP dream.

'We were both standing in a weird place, it looked like a town, but it was distorted, extremely, like the pathway we were on was twisted like a loop. We could stand upside down, there were no rules of gravity in this place. The town wasn't in one place it was scattered, like the ground of this town was broken, and the different places were thrown around and in different places.'

This didn't seem like such a bad dream.

'You and I managed to cope with all the changes in this distorted place. It seemed like we were chasing someone, eventually we caught up with a blue haired man. I had never met anyone with this colour hair. "I told you not to interfere." He said before turning around.' Camilla said. 'My dream then shifted. I was in a room, a room that looked familiar, it was grey and made from metal. You and I were only accompanied by one man. This man had a gun, he shot you and you fell to floor and I saw blood pooling from you, I tried to scream, but no sound came out then everything went black. I woke up after that.' Camilla told me.

The dream didn't sound so bad.

'That was your ESP dream?' I asked.

'Jordan, you know the room that looked familiar?' Camilla asked. 'That was the dream my parents got shot in, first my dad then my mum.' Camilla said.

I didn't understand, why was her ESP showing her something that already happened? Why was I in that room with her? Wait! Didn't she say I was also in the room? That was then it clicked.

'Oh…oh…' I stopped suddenly realising how history would repeat itself. '…oh.'

Camilla nodded, now that I finally understood, this was bad.

I suppose now it was quite bad that we both died in her dream. It was also her ESP dream, so the events that went on may well occur, but I promised to Camilla that I would not let Team Rocket harm her.

This didn't just affect Camilla, it affected me too. I was involved in Camilla's dream and I had the power of aura.

'Did Riley help you?' I asked.

What I should have said was: "You need to talk to my dad."

This was bad, really bad, there was no way that my uncle could fix this, he could only help so much. Team Rocket had killed Camilla's parents and now once my dad again banished them they were going to come back again to kill Camilla and me.

That was strange, why would they kill Camilla? They didn't remember her, at least as much as she knew they didn't. They knew me, they knew me all too well. My mother and father had bad history with them, and Giovanni was now set on killing me. He wanted to make my dad feel what he felt when my dad saved my mum from him. Giovanni saw it as Red stole my mother, but in truth my mother was saved by my dad.

I'm not sure if my dad would be able to save me with this, but I didn't want to dwell on this dream that Camilla had and neither should she. I had an Orange Island Challenge tomorrow, I had to be solely focused on that.

'He put my mind at ease.' Camilla replied.

I almost forgot that I had asked her a question.

'So, you're calmer about it?' I asked.

Camilla nodded.

I finally understood that Camilla's dream was as bad as her past, hat was why she looked saddened at her dream, but this time was different, she didn't seem to cry this time.

I didn't want to think about it much longer, all this information would put strain on my brain. I decided I needed to sleep, that would clear my head and I would be focused on tomorrow.

But the sleep did not ease the strain.

 _I didn't know why or how, it all happened so fast._

 _I was able to comprehend a few things._

 _One: There was chaos all around._

 _Two: People were going to get hurt._

 _Three: The evil guys were going to escape._

 _Four: I was the one who was supposed to save them._

 _The prophecy rang true in my head. Like I would never forget it, it was permanently embedded into my brain._

" _Disturb not the ones who harmonise together, the beast of the sea, tis he who holds the treasure._

 _With lightning fire and ice, the chosen one's downfall will be the price._

 _Three orbs that hold the solution, stop this will the worlds pollution._

 _The shrill sound blocking cry will be near, as the people of Shamouti cower in fear._

 _The chosen one will bring together all three, for the only one to tame the beast of the sea."_

 _This was a prophecy, one that was given to me._

" _Disturb not the ones who harmonise together." This must have meant three Pokémon, it could have meant people, but who would those three people be?_

" _The beast of the sea, tis he who holds the treasure." So, this beast of the sea has some kind of treasure, but I have no clue who this beast was or what the treasure was._

" _With lightning, fire and ice." Three different Pokémon types, this probably represents the three that were mentioned in the first line._

" _The chosen one's downfall will be the price." There was a hero in this prophecy, I was told it was me. Apparently, my downfall would complete this prophecy._

" _Three orbs hold the solution." This line confused me, three orbs, they may be for the three beings of lightning, fire and ice._

" _Stop this will the worlds pollution." So, the world was going to be polluted and the only way to stop it would be these three orbs._

" _The shrill sound blocking cry will be near." So, we will hear a sound that could deafen all of us if we weren't careful._

" _As the people of Shamouti cower in fear." So, there was this island, the one I was on now and all these residents will cower in fear because of a shrill sound deafening cry._

" _The chosen one will bring together all three." So, I will bring these three beings together apparently to stop whatever was going to happen._

" _For the only one to tame the beast of the sea." I didn't know if this line was referring to me or someone else who could tame this beast of the three._

I woke up.

The light had just been filtering through the blinds.

It was our second day on Navel island, I knew we would be here for a few more days, I hadn't yet, so that would be something I had to do, but today I was going to be solely focused on my Gym challenge.

Today I was going to win and receive my second Gym badge.

I got up and out of bed without startling Pikachu, he was still asleep.

I got dressed and made my way to the lobby.

I was the first person, besides nurse Joy who was in the Pokémon centres lobby.

I started to think about my dream. I think it was aura related, but I'm not sure, it wasn't bad, per say. It wasn't a good dream, either, it was…iffy. I couldn't decide whether this dream was something I should think about, or just leave for the moment.

I was eager to find answers though, so leaving it didn't seem like an option.

Getting answers would be difficult, but I knew the people who would have the answers. Leaf and Tracey were the people who knew about Pokémon and the Orange Islands Archipelago.

Although I didn't want Camilla involved, she already had enough to figure out and if she had another ESP dream, she would have more stress.

I didn't understand why she had ESP dreams more often, now we were in the Orange Island Archipelago, maybe there was something in this region that strengthened her, and was causing all these dreams.

Leaf was the next person to come out, she didn't seem surprised that I was awake. I was normally the first one awake. But she did look around and saw that we were the only ones besides nurse Joy who were present at the moment.

I then saw a few more people come in.

Oops, spoke too soon.

As soon as Leaf sat down I completely forgot what I was going to ask her, but it seemed important.

'You look confused, Jordan.' She said sitting opposite me.

'I was going to ask you something.' I said looking puzzled.

'But you've forgotten what it was?' She asked. I knew she already knew the answer, she was just asking for confirmation.

'Yes.' I nodded.

'Well, unless it was about your Gym challenge, you should keep it to yourself for now. You should be focused solely on that, nothing else matters today.' Leaf told me.

She was right, it was my Gym challenge today and I needed to concentrate.

My Pikachu came into the lobby a few seconds later followed by Camilla's Pikachu. I knew Camilla would come out soon.

My Pikachu sat on the table.

'Hey, buddy.' I greeted him. 'Pumped?' I asked.

He looked at me as if to say, "Do you even have to ask?" I took that as a yes.

Sure, enough Camilla came out a few seconds later.

She took her usual seat beside me.

Many more people now emerged from their rooms.

I wondered why Tracey was taking longer than usual, he wasn't normally like this.

'Hello.' Camilla greeted Leaf and me.

'Hi.' I greeted her back.

She looked at me with a look I knew all too well, she had another ESP dream, these had become extremely frequent with her almost every night. I hope it wouldn't cause her pain. I also hoped that it would stop for a while, perhaps the future had a lot to tell her.

Tracey came out a few minutes later.

'Hey Tracey.' I greeted. 'What took you so long?' I asked.

'I saw a rare Pokémon out the window, so I decided to sketch it.' He replied.

That made sense, Tracey was into sketching Pokémon. If I had the same opportunity to catch a rare Pokémon, I probably would.

'Are you ready for your next Gym challenge, Jordan?' Leaf asked.

'I'm ready.' I replied.

Pikachu jumped on my shoulder before I stood up, showing us that he was readier than I was.

Tracey led us to a large arched, golden gate.

'This is the entrance to the Gym.' Tracey said.

I looked up at the mountain that loomed in front of us. I could not se the top, this mountains peak was covered by clouds.

My friends and I walked through.

We saw a boy maybe a year older than me looking up at the mountain.

This boy had bright auburn hair that was in a messy style.

He turned around and I saw he was wearing a red Hawaiian shirt and light brown cargo trousers. H was also wearing darker brown boots.

'Hello.' He greeted us. 'My name is Danny, it appears as if this mountain is the only way to reach the Gym which sits at the top.' This Danny explained.

I had to climb a mountain to reach the top.

Danny then left, and he proceeded to scale the mountain.

Was there any other way up?

'Jordan, there.' Camilla said.

She pointed to a cable car.

I walked towards I but stopped realizing there was a sign in front of it.

"All challengers must climb the mountain with no help from their Pokémon. If they use their Pokémon or use the cable car the challenger will be disqualified and will not be able to take part in the Gym challenge."

Well now I had my answer.

I now had to climb the mountain, just like Danny had done.

I looked up and saw Danny was quite high, he might be able to hear me if I called him.

I gave my bag and Pokémon belt to Tracey.

'Can you take these up? I'm going to take on this challenge with no temptations.' I said.

Tracey nodded and took them with him to the cable car.

'Pika.' Pikachu called to me.

He stated to scale the mountain. I followed him.

He found it easy, but he was smaller than me, the ledges were large enough for him to bounce onto, but I had to grab them with my hands and find where I could place my feet. I remember doing something similar recently. My friends and I climbed a cliff face, grated that wa ninety-degree angle, thang goodness this mountain wasn't, it was still hard to climb, but not as hard as the cliff.

I wondered how Danny found it so easy, was he a climbing person? Maybe there were some people who were just good at climbing mountains.

I looked up and couldn't see Danny anymore maybe he had gone past the clouds. Not only could Danny climb mountains he was also quick at it.

Pikachu was gaining distance on me. True I couldn't use any help, but it would be nice if my Pikachu could support me, by climbing the same rate as I would.

A few minutes later I entered the cloud bank and my visibility became worse, the lower temperature didn't help. It started to get cold.

I emerged from the clouds and saw that I could now walk to the top, but it was covered with snow. I was shivering, maybe is should have worn my jumper, but it was really warm down at the bottom of the mountain.

I reached the top and I saw Danny sitting in the snow, he was making a fuss of Pikachu, scratching him behind the ears. Pikachu was cooing in happiness.

As soon as Pikachu saw me, he ran towards me and jumped on my shoulder.

Camilla was wearing a jumper, she came to me handing me my Pokéball belt and jumper.

I strapped my Pokéball belt on and put my jumper on.

'Hello, Jordan Hale, welcome to Navel Gyms Challenge.' Danny said standing up.

So, Danny was the Gym leader, I had met the second member of the Orange Crew.

I guessed that he knew my name because my friends must have told him, they did reach the top long before I did.

'To complete this Gym Challenge, you will use only three Pokémon which you will pick before we start the first part of this challenge. The first challenge is to freeze a steam of geyser. The second challenge is to build a toboggan out of the frozen geyser steam that all three of our Pokémon can fit in and you. And the third challenge is a race to the bottom of the mountain in the toboggan.' Danny explained. 'To win the badge you need to beat me in two challenges.' He continued.

Climbing that mountain seemed like a challenge.

I had to pick three Pokémon to help me in three challenges.

'Come on out Nidoqueen.' Danny said.

Nidoqueen stood in front of a geyser.

I needed a Pokémon that could use ice attacks, so I only had one choice.

'Blastoise, I choose you.' I said sending out Blastoise.

'Who are the other two of your Pokémon you will use?' Danny asked. 'I will be using Machoke and Scyther.' Danny told me.

I had to think ahead.

I need a Pokémon that could carve and that I could fit into a toboggan.

'I guess, you'll be using Pikachu, so now you only have one Pokémon to pick.' Danny said.

That made it a little easier, Pikachu could help carve with is Iron tail move.

I knew that I had one other Pokémon that could help.

'I pick Sandslash.' I said. Sandslash could use slash to help carve the toboggan.

'Okay, if you are using Blastoise then you need to have him stand in front of a geyser, and when the steam spurts out, freeze the column. Whoever freezes the ice first will win the first challenge.' Danny explained.

Blastoise stood in front of a geyser.

I saw Danny nod to Nidoqueen.

'Blastoise, when a steam comes out I want you to use ice beam, okay?' I asked Blastoise.

It nodded as a steam column came out, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared.

I saw that Danny already had a big block of ice.

'Don't worry, Blastoise, we will get the next one.' I reassured him.

A few seconds later a second column of steam erupted and Blastoise wasted no time and used ice beam. The move froze a massive block of ice. It was taller than Blastoise or me. It was definitely wide enough to fit Blastoise in it.

I knew I lost that challenge, so I had to win the next two.

'Sandslash, I choose you.' I called out.

'Scyther, let's go.' Danny called.

A Pokémon I had not seen came out.

Scyther looked like a large insect. It is primarily green with cream between its three body segments. On the back of its head that looked a little reptilian are three points, it also has narrow eyes. Its forearms consist of large, white scythe. On its thighs are spikes of fur, and it has three clawed toes on its large feet. Two pairs of cream-colored wings extend from its back.

I took out my Pokédex to scan it.

' _Scyther is blindingly fast. Its blazing speed enhances the effectiveness of the twin scythes on its forearms. This Pokémon's scythes are so effective, they can slice through thick logs in one wicked stroke.'_

I now knew why Danny used Scyther. It was like Sandslash, but instead Sandslash had large claws.

'Okay, the first to craft their toboggan wins this challenge.' Danny said.

He then started.

I was already behind.

My Pokémon and I started to craft the toboggan. Well Pikachu and Sandslash did.

Blastoise gave encouragement while I told them how I wanted it to look.

Sandslash was so quick slashing at the block of ice making it look easy. He sliced through the ice like it was butter.

Pikachu used its iron tail to make small marks to help the design of the toboggan.

After about ten minutes we had finished.

We had a space for all four of us to sit in. Blastoise would be at the back, I would be in front of Blastoise, Sandslash in front of me and Pikachu would be at the front.

I looked at Danny and his Pokémon, he had only just finished.

'Well done Jordan, if you win the next challenge I will give you the Gym badge. It's been two years since someone had won this Gym badge, it gets boring winning all the time.' Danny said. 'Try not to disappoint me.' Danny continued.

Blastoise was going to be the one to push and steer the toboggan down the mountain. He decided that since he was the largest it would be easy for him to do that.

Pikachu got in first, Sandslash followed, and I followed him.

I saw that Danny was using Machoke to push the toboggan.

'Guys hold on tight.' I said.

'Why don't you three use the cable car and meet us at the bottom?' Danny suggested.

My friends made their way into the cable car.

'Jordan, as soon as the cable car disappears into the cloud bank we will go.' Danny told me.

Blastoise grabbed the back of the toboggan as Danny and his Pokémon made their way into the toboggan, besides Machoke who was going to push.

The cable car disappeared and Blastoise pushed.

As soon as the toboggan began to slide Blastoise jumped in.

I didn't look back as I was solely focused on staying first, but if I lost focus for even a second, I knew Danny would pass me in an instant.

I couldn't see him out of the corner of my eye, and I couldn't see him in front of me either, so I guessed he was behind me. I was glad for this as it meant I was going to win this challenge. That would be my second Orange Crew badge.

The snow disappeared as we entered the cloud bank, we were now on the rock the snow behind us, the toboggan slowed down, but not enough for me to worry about it, we still had a good constant speed.

We exited the cloud bank and I could see the foot of the mountain below us, but it was still a fair way away.

My Pokémon were enjoying the speed of the toboggan. I guess gravity had its advantages, occasionally.

It was good that my Pokémon were enjoying the ride, if there was no joy in this challenge there would be no point. I wouldn't force my Pokémon to do anything they refused to.

I looked to the side and Danny came towards me with blinding speed. I was afraid he was going to crash into me, that would be catastrophic, that would cause me to lose. I couldn't win with a Broken toboggan.

A few feet before he crashed he swerved to face to the foot of the mountain, the dust that he pushed in our direction cause me to lose control of the toboggan and it swerved in a zig-zag type of fashion. That would cause us dearly, especially since Danny was now speeding down the mountain gaining a great amount of distance between us.

As soon as I gained control we were facing the wrong, way, we were descending down the mountain face, this would also slow us down. I was not liking our odds at this moment.

I looked past Blastoise and saw that we may a s well give up. Between us and the finish line was Danny and he was about midway.

Blastoise punched his fist into the ground, that caused the toboggan to jerk and face the right way.

Blastoise then sprayed water in front of the toboggan, and as soon as the toboggan hit the water it started to speed up incredibly. The water that Blastoise produced created a smoother surface for us to glide on. I now saw we were catching up to Danny, it wasn't fast enough, but Blastoise was determined as he continued to use his cannons to spray water in front of the toboggan.

Sandslash also decided to help by using is claws to hook into the ground for a fraction of a second and push us across the ground.

It sped us up a little, but there was still no way we would catch up to Danny.

If we were to win, we would need a miracle. No amount of speed was going to help us.

It was working well, but the in an instant it suddenly got worse.

We slid onto a ledge and soared through the sky.

Our speed was increased as we headed toward the ground, we were catching up to Danny incredibly fast, but I knew on impact that our toboggan would be shattered to pieces. That would probably disqualify us, and after all the effort we put into making this toboggan

Danny was a few feet away from the finish line and we passed him and hit the ground.

I closed my eyes and squeezed them shut as I braced for the impact and the sound of broken ice, but it never came. I opened my eyes and saw Blastoise and Sandslash holding the sides of the toboggan making sure it didn't break.

Danny came out of his toboggan as it stopped next to mine, his was as intact as it was when he started down the mountain.

At the moment I could not move. I was still in shock of two things: One, my toboggan was still in one piece even after we crashed it into the ground. Two, we passed the finish line before Danny, which meant we won.

Danny offered me his hand as my Pokémon hopped out.

I accepted his offer as he helped me out my-still intact-toboggan.

'Congratulations, Jordan.' He congratulated me, shaking my hand. I returned his gesture hesitantly. I was still in shock.

My friends made their way to me.

I returned my Pokémon as my friends made their way to me.

'Well done, Jordan.' Tracey congratulated me.

'Halfway there.' Leaf agreed.

'We're all proud of you.' Camilla added as her congratulations.

I shook my head and my win finally sunk in.

'Thanks.' I said to all four of them.

'And as proof of your win,' Danny started. 'This is the Sea Ruby Badge.' He said handing me a pale pink oyster shaped shell with an upside down red crown with four points. Inside the red crown is a small round green gem. 'For your next challenge, I suggest Trovita island. The Gym leader there is called Rudy.' He will provide a good challenge for you.' Danny added.

I thanked Danny before my friends and I made our way back to the Pokémon centre.

I needed to tell my friends that we had to stay on this island for a few days for Professor oaks aide to show up and update our Pokédexes.

My friends and I sat down on a table as we entered the Pokémon centre.

'Guys, I have something to tell you.' I started.

 **Sorry for the long update, I have been extremely busy since my last update, you know, Christmas, new year and then an endless supply of unexpected things. Enough of that, my next chapter is now up. It is not as eventful or as long as the previous chapter, but Jordan acquires his second Gym badge, so now he's halfway to battling the Orange league Champion.**

 **Anyway, thanks to everyone who's reading this, you guys are the reason I continue this story. And thanks to my reviewers, your reviews make me smile, even the constructive criticism I receive, it helps we write and continue.**

 **Next chapter should be up early to middle of next month, hopefully. If I'm lucky it will be out at the end of the month.**

 **Chapter Eleven: Burnt Charizard**


	11. Burnt Charizard

**Disclaimer: Pokémon…Hmm? Not owned by me (Thank goodness).**

 **Thanks to DRD for beta-ing this cha** **p** **ter.**

Burnt Charizard

My friends didn't mind staying for a few more days, especially if meant getting the upgrade to update the Pokédex so we could register Pokémon that were native to Johto.

Leaf was happy, definitely more than me. She would be able to add more Pokémon to this list she already had, her dream was to fill up the Pokédex and she was doing so well already with the Kanto Pokédex almost complete.

I was happy, it meant that I could scan more Pokémon, as I found out Pokémon that were native to Johto were in the Orange Islands Archipelago.

Camilla wasn't into completing the Pokédex, not as much as Leaf, but it would give her something to do while she looked for another dream.

Tracey now had a Pokédex, it wasn't like he would use it much, he tried to decline as he always drew the Pokémon he had encountered, but apparently the professor had insisted, so he didn't reject a gift from his idol.

I was finally able to scan Marill

' _Marill the Aqua Mouse Pokémon. When fishing for food at the edge of a fast-running stream, Marill wraps its tail around the trunk of a tree. This Pokémon's tail is flexible and configured to stretch.'_

This was good, now I had a better understanding and anther Pokémon in my Pokédex

As soon as the professor's aide left we decided we should also.

I knew we had to get to my next Gym Challenge, but I had no idea where it was, I guessed we should just continue and find out where the boat took us. Before I believed that Blastoise would take us around the islands, but there seemed to be a boat at almost every single island that would take us to the next.

I heard that the next island was quite vacant of people but was filled with Pokémon.

Leaf was happy to hear that news, the new update to her Pokédex will be filled in no time.

We arrived on the next island around noon. As soon as we arrived we saw that it wasn't a dock, there was just a trail leading into a forest. There must be some Pokémon in here that Leaf could register; I would have stopped if she found any.

We had trekked through the forest for twenty minutes with no sign of any Pokémon, the only sounds were our breathing and our Pikachu chatting with the occasional laugh or sound from Cubone.

I thought this place was supposed to be chocked full of Pokémon, we were told that, we should have seen at least one, right?

We made it out of the forest a few minutes later and we were greeted by a massive canyon, and we were at the bottom of, it. I would not like to fall from that height, it sure was high, higher that the cliff which we stupidly scaled to find nurse Joy, but smaller than that mountain, I had to scale, to qualify for Danny's Gym challenge.

My friends and I decided to follow the trail.

'Hello.' Tracey called after a few minutes of silence.

His voice reverberated around us.

As soon as his voice died down we heard a second echo.

'Hello?' This one was one of a question and sounded feminine.

My friends and I looked up; we could see a figure on top of the canyon.

The figure extended wings and glided down toward us.

We saw the figure was a Charizard as it landed, but a girl jumped off.

This girl had green hair that was pulled into a pony tail; the air still looked all over the place though. She had piercing blue eyes. She had a red top that covered her shoulders, but left her armpits bare and it also reached the midpoint of her stomach. She also had red short shorts, she had pink wristbands and her shoes were also red, she had something about that colour.

The Charizard that she had looked different to mine, it was larger and had a pink bow on its head.

'Hello.' The girl greeted us. 'Who are you and what are you doing here.'

The girls piercing blue eyes were intimidating us.

I was the first to recover.

'My name is Jordan, and this is my buddy, Pikachu.' I said introducing myself and my Pikachu.

'I am Camilla, and this is Pikachu and Cubone.'

'My name is Leaf.'

And I am Tracey.' My other friends said introducing themselves.

'Okay, what are you doing here?' The girl asked.

'We were told that this island holds lots of Pokémon, so we came to see them.' Leaf replied.

This girl looked a little shocked before she shared a look with her Charizard.

'There are only a few Pokémon on this island, and I bet you have already seen these Pokémon before.' The girl said, like she knew what information our Pokédexes held. 'My name is Liza by the way.'

'Can you at least show us these Pokémon?' I asked.

'It's quite a way.' Liza told me. 'Do you have a Pokémon that can get you there as quick?' Liza asked.

'Charizard, I choose you!' I called out. Charizard appeared and roared showing how strong it was.

'You have a Charizard.' Liza said, stating the obvious.

I nodded. 'Charizard is one of my strongest Pokémon.' I said.

'Why don't you show me how quick it is?' Liza suggested.

I was confused by that, was my Charizard going to have a running race?

Liza noticed my confused expression.

'Your Charizard will fly to where I lead you, it is not a race, but I want to see your Charizard's endurance.' Liza stated.

I suppose that was fair. Charizard could show that it could handle whatever this girl could throw at it.

'Why don't you two hop onto my Charizard and Camilla can join Jordan on his, I don't suppose your Charizard can struggle with two people and three small Pokémon?' Liza asked as if she was testing my patience.

I would show Liza that my Charizard was not a Pokémon that would be pushed around so lightly, he helped me in so many battles. I even got him to mega evolve. That's how close our bond was.

Liza climbed on top of her Charizard with Tracey and Leaf closely behind.

I climbed atop mine while Camilla followed suite, behind me.

'Follow me.' Liza said and she took off.

My Charizard took off a little slower than hers, but managed to catch up with little effort.

'Where are we going?' I asked shouting over the wind.

'Characific valley.' Liza replied.

'Chara...what?' I asked.

'It's better if you see it, rather than me telling you.' Liza replied.

Sure enough a few seconds later I saw a large form of rock, it looked like a Charizard's head was protruding from the top.

On the outside were some stairs that led up to a stone gate from a moat that surrounded it.

Inside the moat a few metres away from the stairs were two rock pillars that held-what seemed to look like-dragon wings, they looked similar to a Charizard's wings.

Liza's Charizard landed just before the gate, mine landed a second or two later.

'Well done, Jordan, your Charizard is definitely stubborn enough to show me that it is trying to prove something.' Liza told me as she jumped off her Charizard.

I knew my Charizard would go to great lengths to show people what it could do.

Liza opened the gates and the sight that I saw was great.

Inside the gates were many Charizard, they were training, relaxing or playing around.

'This is Characific valley.' Liza explained.

All of the Charizard in here were larger than my own, but that didn't matter, size was not an issue. I had battled an Onix with a Pikachu and a Gyarados, also with a Pikachu, and both times my Pikachu had truimphed. This was a little different as Charizard was going to prove itself to other Charizard. Charizard had bad experience with its own kind when it was a Charmander. Now it really had to prove itself, more than ever, it did not want to be shunned twice by its kind; that would drop its confidence. I didn't want Charizard to believe it was worthless. I wanted Charizard to know that it was strong, that there was a reason I had asked it to travel with me when it was a Charmander.

'It's brilliant.' I said.

I noticed Tracey had already started to sketch.

'These Charizard are impeccable, their health is great, the way their horns are groomed, and their tails have the greatest swinging motion.' Tracey trailed off.

'Do you care for all these Charizard by yourself?' Camilla asked.

'Yes, actually, I do.' Liza replied. 'Every single one of these Charizard is either mine or a trainers, who has winded up on this island. They have asked me to help them train to get them stronger.' Liza told us.

Leaf was inspecting a Charizard. The Charizard didn't mind, it looked confused, but obliged to Leaf's requests.

'What is she doing?' Liza asked.

'Leaf is intent on learning everything on every Pokémon.' I replied.

'I could just tell her.' Liza said.

'Leaf prefers to study the Pokémon by interacting with them herself, this way she understands their nature, she says it gives her a better understanding.' Camilla assured Liza.

Liza seemed to understand, I knew that Leaf would hate to bee cooped up sitting down and writing about Pokémon, she would rather be out conversing with Pokémon, gaining a better understanding, she preferred wild Pokémon as they were in their natural habitat and had not been disturbed, but you could only get what you were given, but Leaf had sufficed with trainers Pokémon.

'I've seen your Charizard's endurance in flight. I would like to see it battle one of these Charizard.' Liza said.

'That's fine with me; my Charizard will beat any of these Charizard, hands down.' I replied.

I knew my Charizard was strong and I wanted to prove this to Liza.

'Then why don't you have your Charizard pick its opponent?' Liza suggested.

This was a good idea; this would give Charizard some individuality and give it some way to play to its strengths.

Charizard looked at me for approval. I nodded so he looked around and figured which Charizard he would want to face.

I looked around as my Pokémon did, there were at least fifteen other Charizard, every single one was larger than mine. I was beginning to become wary.

What if Charizard picked an opponent that I knew he would not be able to beat?

I saw a Charizard that was larger than the others punching against a rock wall every time he hit it with his fists it either cracked or a part fell to his feet.

I saw the look on Charizard's face and I knew instantly that it was going to pick that Charizard; I also knew it was a bad idea.

There was no way I was going to change my Charizard's mind though. Once he knew what he was going to do, he was too stubborn to change his mind.

I was extremely confident before my Charizard was going to battle, but now I wasn't so sure, there were loads of Charizard in here, but it had to have its big-headedness get the better of it. Maybe when I said that it would beat every Charizard in here hadn't helped.

My Charizard walked up to the one that was punching the wall and tapped it on the shoulder, it turned around and was met with a punch to the face.

My Charizard flew back from the force of the punch and landed inches from Liza's Charizard.

I knew this meant a great deal to my Charizard as it would not boost its confidence, but my Charizard was just too prideful, he would do anything to keep his pride, but at the moment he was acting as I did when I first started my Pokémon journey.

My Charizard got back up and went straight up to the Charizard that had swept it away like it was a fly. It opened its mouth and attacked the Charizard with a flamethrower.

Once my Charizard stopped the attack we saw that the Charizard it attacked had not been harmed at all.

My Charizard looked down sheepishly and I knew it now regretted the actions it took to impress us, it looked at me and I knew it saw my expression was pity.

The Charizard used its own flamethrower on mine and my Charizard looked like it had suffered a lot of damage.

As soon as the last Charizard turned back around, every other Charizard looked at my Charizard and made a semi circle around him, it was as if to say he was not welcome here, in Characific valley.

I recalled my Charizard and walked out of the small enclosure.

Liza followed my friends and I.

The large stone doors closed and I sat down on the ground.

My friends sat with me.

'Your Charizard is too prideful,' Liza started. 'It needs a reality check, if I'm being honest.' Liza continued.

I nodded.

'Is there anything I can do?' I asked.

'If your Charizard can show enough willpower then we may let it into our group.' Liza said.

I knew my Charizard would love to be here and train, but I knew it couldn't face the other Charizard now. I had to show it that it needed to stay strong.

Liza left my friends and I and went back into the enclosure.

I let my Charizard out as soon as the stone doors shut behind Liza.

'Okay, Charizard.' I started.

Charizard was looking down I knew he was ashamed of how foolish he was, but I couldn't let him keep himself down, I needed to boost his confidence and there was only one way to do that.

'Do you remember when I was battling Giovanni?' I asked Charizard. He nodded so I continued. 'I had to keep my cool because I hate that man. I stayed in my place on the other side of the battlefield because it was what I was supposed to do.' I continued. 'You need the same type of willpower that I had then.' I told my Charizard.

I knew it would be hard for him and he needed a way to show willpower, but he had to show me that he could do it by himself.

'Also, you have too much pride, if you have too much pride you thing you are better than everyone else and you make rash decisions, just like we saw.' I said. 'I was just like you when I started my journey, but now I've grown and now I am less rash, I'm sure you could do the same and become less prideful, like me. It's like this: if you don't lose, you won't learn.' I told Charizard.

Charizard turned away from me and slowly descended the steps into the water.

'What are you doing?'I asked him.

He just ignored and kept walking into the water.

He continued into the water until his stomach was submerged. He kept his flaming tail out of the water, so that he wouldn't lose health, but he was being a little reckless still. He was a fire type and now he was going into the water which was a type he was weak to.

I walked down the steps, but I was on the step above the water level.

'Charizard, get out of the water.' I told him.

I had never forced my Pokémon to do anything before, but Charizard was being a little stupid right now.

He had done wrong before, thinking he was the best and now he was acting stupid again, being in water.

I don't know why he was acting stupid, but he must have had a reason.

He got himself in the water, so he could get himself out.

I realized my friends had not said much at all.

Camilla would be the one person to say something, but she had been silent, she was normally the one out of us who would talk.

Tracey must have been too busy focusing on how healthy the Charizard were.

I noticed Leaf was fascinated by the sight of that many Charizard to learn about.

My friends had probably figured that this was something that Charizard and I had to conquer together.

I also knew that. I knew that it was Charizard and I had to figure out ourselves, we both had to prove that we had learnt from our mistakes, more Charizard than me, but we still both had to.

How would I prove myself? I would not stay in the water. I would prove that I would be strong, I would stay awake the whole night with Charizard, he wouldn't be able to sleep, if he did his tail would lower and the fire on the tip of it would be extinguished and that would make him extremely ill, or worse.

Charizard was looking at the doors, so I would look at him.

I sat down on the steps determined to stay up the whole night, there was no way I was going to fall asleep, when I needed to prove to Charizard that we were both as strong as each other.

The afternoon rolled around slowly, and it dragged on.

Charizard's stare never left the doors, and I felt boredom taking over me, but I had to show Charizard that I was strong.

I heard my friends talking amongst themselves in hushed tones. I knew that they didn't want to distract me, but at least they were okay with staying here, they could leave if they wanted to, I wouldn't mind. I would stay here with Charizard.

I knew my friends though, especially Camilla, she was the most loyal person I had ever known, since Cerulean city in Kanto she has never left my side; she and I were great-if not best-friends. I knew Leaf and Tracey were good friends of mine and they wouldn't leave me. Leaf would only leave, if Liam was to come back and if she said yes to travelling with him again. Tracey would probably leave if he got the chance to work with professor Oak.

As soon as the sky started to darken I could feel sleep deprivation hit me.

My friends were all sleeping, and I saw Charizard's eyes were still trained on those doors.

I vowed to stay awake, but fatigue had caught up with me and was determined to make me sleep. I fought off for as long as I could until sleep took me.

 _I didn't like the look of how things were turning out, not long ago I felt on top of the world and now I was falling, once again._

 _How many times had I been in this situation? It was stupid, I hated this repetitiveness, I had been so reckless so many times before, and now this was no different, was I ever going to learn?_

 _There was no turning back now. I was already halfway; it was too late to change my mind._

 _This action could be put into almost every situation I had come to face with, there were always two decisions, and normally I would pick the most dangerous one, and look where it had got me. I was falling from a height that could only described as towering, there was no other building that I had seen that had been as high as that._

 _I remembered that I had died once or twice already and now I was going to die again. Why I had been brought back to life I will never know, but for some reason I had a big part to play, I had been told this a few times, by various Pokémon and they all included me, why was I so special? Couldn't someone else be the chosen one, why did it have to be me?_

 _I was thinking about being told I was the chosen one, now again I was going to die, maybe those Pokémon were wrong about me, maybe I wasn't the chosen, one, maybe I was someone who could have been, they were obviously talking about someone else._

 _I closed my eyes and braced myself for impact, this would be the end, and once I connected with the floor there would be no way for anything to bring me back, person or Pokémon._

 _I saw an orange light speeding toward me twenty feet before I hit the floor. I was hit by this orange light, but it wasn't that much of a force, it was more of something that caught me._

 _I was placed on the ground, the orange light that caught me was gone as quickly as it appeared and I had no idea where it had gone. I looked around, but couldn't not find any trace of it._

 _I was alive, but this time I didn't die, this time I had been saved, this had happened more times than I could count. I had been saved too many tines than I had been bothered to count._

 _Before I could comprehend everything that had happened I was surrounded by hundreds of people._

 _Every single one of them started to ask questions, but I heard one question above the others, one that had scolded me more times than I can remember._

' _What the hell were you thinking?'_

I woke up just as the sun was starting to rise above the rocks.

Charizard was still looking at the door, he didn't look tired at all, unfortunately I had succumbed to fatigue, but I'm not sure he cared. My aura had awakened showing me another dream, but I didn't worry about this one as I knew the outcome. Normally I would have loads of questions, but this time I only had a few, it was still an aura dream because it was from my point of view as all my other aura dreams were.

I saw my friends were all still asleep; they had not been woken up by the rising sun.

I slowly stood up, due to the fact that I had just woken up, my coordination and orientation skills were not working completely.

It only took my friends a few minutes after me to wake up.

Camilla was the first and she instantly came and sat next to where I was standing.

She patted the floor next to her and I sat down, we were both looking at the doors, just as Charizard had and still was.

I felt guilty about sleeping. I wanted Charizard to know I was strong, but instead I had fallen asleep, and I had shown him that I was weak.

I didn't hear when Leaf and Tracey got up, but they sat on either side of Camilla and me.

'Did you sleep Jordan?' Leaf asked me.

I nodded in response; I didn't really feel like talking, especially since I felt like I had let Charizard down.

The doors to where the other Charizard were had still not opened, I wondered what else Charizard could do to convince them that it was good enough to train with the other Charizard.

Charizard had still not looked away from the doors, I didn't even know if it had blinked this whole time.

I didn't want to put Charizard through this any longer.

'Charizard, let's go.' I said.

Charizard didn't even acknowledge me.

I stood up.

'Charizard!' I called, but he still ignored me.

How could he not see that this waiting was becoming more hopeless with every second that passed?

I heard a creak and turned around, the doors were slowly opening.

Charizard's expression didn't change, my expression however was wonder.

Liza came out with her Charizard.

'Your Charizard is definitely persistent and too proud to let anything stop him from achieving his goals.' Liza told me. 'It has shown great promise onto becoming a very powerful Charizard.' Liza continued.

'He has been very powerful and has helped me in every situation I have come across.' I replied.

'Do you think Charizard will like to come into Characific valley and train here with the other Charizard?' Liza asked.

I was a little baffled. Liza was so intent, yesterday on not letting Charizard in with the other Charizard yesterday, but she had said that my Charizard had shown great promise.

I looked up at Charizard; he was looking back at me.

'It's ultimately his choice.' I replied.

'Great.' Liza said. 'Charla, show him inside.' Liza said.

Liza's Charizard showed my Charizard into the valley.

'So how long will it be until he'll be stronger?' I asked Liza.

'You were planning on staying here while he is training?' Liza asked.

'Um...yeah.' I replied.

'Jordan, Charizard's training will take years.' Liza replied.

'What?' I asked.

Years? This was something I didn't count on, this would leave me down to four Pokémon, I'm sure the champion of the orange islands had six Pokémon, if Charizard stayed here I would need to catch two more before I was able to battle the champion.

'It will take years to train Charizard to a high enough level for it to be able to travel with you again.' Liza explained.

I looked in the direction of Charizard and he seemed oblivious to the situation he and I were both in. He was too busy conversing with the other Charizard in Characific valley.

Their behaviour towards him had changed drastically overnight. That was weird.

Here I was worrying about my Orange Islands challenge and Charizard was being accepted into a cult of sorts with other Charizard.

I should be happy for him, not being selfish over my own needs.

I decided to suck it up and walked toward Characific valley.

'Charizard.' I started.

He turned toward me.

'I'm glad you've found a place you truly belong, its better this way, you will become more powerful here than I could ever hope for you.' I told him.

If this place would help Charizard more than I ever could why shouldn't he stay here and train instead of me? It was better for him. Of course I was sad that I would be leaving Charizard, but this was for the best, for the both of us, it would help him and it would help me explore all my other Pokémon's attributes. Also it would give me a goal to work towards. I would now have to look for two other Pokémon to help me compete in the Orange Islands league.

'Thank you for everything.' I started. 'Goodbye.' I said.

I walked backwards out of Characific valley and Liza walked in.

'Oh, Jordan? Before you go, here.' Liza said handing me a number. 'It's my PokéNav number, so you can call me if you want to see Charizard, or want him to train with you, if you change your mind.' Liza said.

'Thanks.' I replied taking the number off of her. I would put that in my PokéNav plus later.

'Liza, is there any way off the island without going the way we came?' Camilla asked.

'Of course.' Liza started. 'There is a small path that way and it will take you to the shore. I hope you have a Pokémon that can travel by water or air to get to the next island.' Liza said.

'Thank you.' Leaf said.

Liza closed the doors to Characific valley.

Charizard looked at me with a painful look, I was sure that the look that I sent back was a reflection.

The doors finally closed and I felt a sharp pain hit me in the chest

And now it would be ages until I saw Charizard again.

This is the second Pokémon I had let go, but the first one wasn't as painful as this.

With Lapras it was easier, I hadn't had a deep connection with Lapras, we only just befriended it, but with Charizard it was different. I found Charizard as a second to its sibling, it was left alone as a Charmander, so I took it in and it evolved into a Charmeleon, then once it was strong enough it evolved again, he and I had been in many great and bad times and now to say goodbye to him was one of the most painful things I would ever have to do.

I started to run off in the direction Liza told us was the way to get a boat off this island.

I could feel the tears threatening to exit my eyes and streak down my face. I did not want my friends to see how weak I was when I was leaving a Pokémon behind, but it was like losing your best friend, like they were moving away and there was a chance you may never see them again, that was how I felt.

'Jordan!' I head Camilla call me.

I knew Leaf and Tracey wouldn't be far behind her, all three of my friends chasing after me.

I slowed down once I thought I had gained enough distance between me and Characific valley.

I felt a tear streak down my face, it hung on my chin for a second before falling to the ground.

'Pika?' My Pikachu asked me.

'I'm fine buddy.' I assured him using my sleeves to wipe away and excess tears or streaks.

'Jordan.' Camilla said coming up next to me, a little out of breath.

'Are you okay?' Leaf asked.

'Yeah.' I replied after a few seconds of silence, sure it was hard to let go of a Pokémon you had a bond with, but I knew I would be fine after a while.

Camilla looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

'I'm fine, I promise.' I assured my friends. 'Come on, I have my third badge to get.' I said.

I was definitely pumped to get number three as then I would only need one more before I would be able to battle the Champion and hopefully I could get two more Pokémon before then.

I ran off again, but this time I was eager.

 **I am alive! Been almost two months, and I will not use any excuses, but I'm back anyway and updates should be more frequent now, anyway till next time.**

 **Chapter Twelve:** **Snor-lax Part 1**


	12. Snor-lax Part 1

**Disclaimer: Pokémon? What's that? Oh...right. I don't own it though? ...oh. Okay.**

 **Thanks to DRD for beta-ing this chapter.**

12\. Snor-lax Part 1

Thankfully, there was a boat that would take us to the next island, so Blastoise wouldn't need to take all of us on his back, like he had previously.

Even before we docked on the island, we knew something was wrong. All the trees on the island looked dead.

'I wonder what happened here.' The captain said.

Unfortunately, neither of us had an answer for what had happened, we were as clueless as he was, but I'm sure we would find answers as soon as we docked on the island.

My friends and I cautiously stepped onto the wooden docks, the sailor moored the boat before tying it to the dock and hopping off in search for some answers, he jogged ahead. My friends and I walked inland. Neither of us felt like jogging, we would eventually find the answer to what was happening here.

The trees started to become less barren, they weren't ripped of all life, they looked as if they were on the way to becoming barren as they were wilting, but I'm sure there was a small trace of hope that they could be saved. I still didn't understand, why some of them looked lifeless and then some of them may have had hope.

We saw the sailor, he was in front of a large building that had a two story tower on the right hand side at the back, the rest of the building only had a ground floor with a flat roof, on the left hand side was a garage and a dust path led off to the left from the garage.

The building was white and the garage door was orange. The roof of the tower matched the colour of the garage door.

'...really, so how long has this been going on?' We heard the sailor ask a girl when we came in earshot.

'It's been a few weeks now.' The girl replied.

We didn't mean to eavesdrop, but we were closer now, plus this seemed serious and I would have loved to help.

'This island doesn't seem that big.' The sailor countered.

'Oh it's not, but it can sleep for days, so it takes a while for it to destroy our whole plantation.' The girl replied.

This girl had brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. She was wearing a dark blue t-shirt and red shorts, she also had white trainers, they were a little stained and dirty, but I knew they were white originally.

I wished I owned a pair of shorts, the orange islands archipelago had loads of people wearing shorts, plus it seemed like a more tropical place than my home region.

The girl looked to us.

I was about to ask a question, but the girl beat me to it.

'Who are you?' She asked.

The question caught me off guard.

'My name is Jordan Hale, and this is my buddy Pikachu.' I said introducing Pikachu and myself.

'Pika.' Pikachu said introducing himself.

'I am Camilla, and this is my Pikachu.' Camilla said introducing herself and her Pikachu.

'Pika.' Her Pikachu introduced herself.

'My name is Leaf.' Leaf said.

'And I am Tracey.' Tracey added.

'Okay, what are you doing here?' The girl asked.

'I believe I can answer that.' The sailor started. 'You see my boat docked here, it's just on my rounds of ferrying travellers over.' The sailor continued. 'We saw the chaos that was going on so we came to investigate.' The sailor explained.

'We came to help.' I corrected, stepping forward.

I knew my friends would agree with me, this was a problem and it needed to be fixed whatever it was.

The girl looked surprised at my forwardness.

'Help?' She asked.

I nodded.

'You don't even know what's going on.' She added.

'Well why don't you tell us, and we'll be happy to help.' Tracey suggested.

The girl pondered over the thought for a few seconds.

'Follow me to the station.' The girl said.

We followed her to a building that was light orange and a watch tower; it had a heliport that wasn't in use. She took us inside. Inside there were around four cluttered desks, each with a chair behind it. There were a few more chairs scattered around the room. The windows were almost covered with stacked boxes. I gathered that whatever the problem was, it was bad, the people here hadn't even been able to stay organised.

She sat behind the least cluttered desk and told us to grab a chair, all five of us sat on the opposite side of the desk.

The sailor had decided to stay and help for a while.

'Okay, first of all, my name is Angie, and I have been here for seven weeks, the problem has been going on for three weeks. As you can guess, it has distracted my colleagues and I from working on a matter of other things. At the moment this problem has only been found on this island. You see the bare trees; they were once full of life and bearing fruit, grapefruits to be exact. This island, along with another six islands is the biggest suppliers of grapefruits in the world.' Angie explained.

'I've heard about these islands, the seven grapefruit isles, apparently anyone who travels here gets a free grapefruit or sailors get a crate because they produce so much.' Tracey said.

'Yes, we did until a few weeks ago, when this Pokémon started to cause chaos through the island.' Angie said.

'Wait! What?' I exclaimed. 'A Pokémon is killing the trees?' I asked.

'No, it's not killing them, not outright; it is eating all the grapefruits, running our supply dry.' Angie said.

'It's eating all the grapefruit?' Leaf asked.

'Yes.' Angie replied.

'What Pokémon would be able to eat that much fruit in such a short amount of time?' Tracey pondered.

I looked to Camilla who was being awfully silent.

'I have an idea.' Camilla replied.

'You know what it is?' Angie asked.

'I hope I'm wrong.' Camilla said.

'What Pokémon do you think it is?' I asked Camilla.

'Snorlax?' Camilla asked.

Angie nodded.

This made total sense now, a Snorlax eating loads then sleeping for long periods of time, the only problem this time was we had no way to get a poke flute to wake it up, the only one I knew of was in Kanto. There was no way-if we went to go and retrieve the Pokeflute-that we would be able to wake it up and stop it before it destroyed the whole of this island. My friends and I shared worried looks, Camilla and I had been in a predicament like this before and we had to travel to Pewter from Vermillion to get the Pokeflute to wake up a Snorlax before. But this Snorlax was a bit more troublesome, the one in Vermillion was just blocking the road, this one, however was actually being destructive to this islands main produce.

'Angie?' A muffled buzzing sound asked.

Angie immediately began moving papers around her desk to find the source of the sound.

None of us made any attempt to distract her.

Tracey and Leaf were talking about how we could stop the Snorlax, it wasn't a bad idea to listen, see what they had to say about it, they hadn't encountered this before, but to be fair we didn't have the equipment we had the last time we encountered a Snorlax.

The captain had stood up and was looking at his map, I didn't know why, I didn't know what was on his map, or if it could help us in any way.

I looked to Camilla and she was looking at me with a look that said "help!". I understood why she was pleading me, I had always shown the sign of leadership, but I needed her as much as she needed me. My friends I were in this together. I flashed her a smile to show her that we could get through this and that we would solve the problem.

'Angie, do you copy?' The buzzing muffled voice asked.

'Ah-ha!' Angie exclaimed not a second later. 'This is Angie, what's your status update?' She asked.

'Angie we have located the Pokemon.' The voice replied.

'I'll be there as soon as I can.' Angie responded.

So they found Snorlax, that confused me, I'm sure that Snorlax wouldn't be hard to find, it was a large Pokemon, it shouldn't be that hard to track down.

Angie rushed out of the station and we followed her. We all knew what was happening, but we didn't know what to say.

Angie didn't say any more, she was too focused on the task at hand.

I thought she was going to run to where the Snorlax was, but instead she headed into the garage.

I heard the sound of an engine roar a few seconds later.

What came out of the garage didn't surprise me. It was a safari jeep, but it was white and had no roof on it.

'I can only take two of you with me.' Angie said as she stopped just outside the station.

'That's okay.' Leaf started.

I turned toward her.

'Jordan, you and Camilla can go, the captain, Tracey and I will catch up with you.' She continued.

I didn't know why leaf wanted to stay behind, her going along with Angie may give her more information on the Snorlax.

I didn't protest though, I wasn't able to. Camilla dragged me into the safari jeep.

As soon as I closed the door Angie sped off.

We raced on the dust path that was in front of us.

The tires kicked up dust and obscured the view behind us, but before I knew it we wouldn't have been able to see the station.

The track twisted through the trees and Angie never slowed or strayed from the track. She was sure in a hurry, it seemed reasonable. Snorlax could wake up at any moment and it would walk away and then it would be gone.

I didn't understand how Leaf would catch up with us, Angie was going pretty fast, there was almost no way that Leaf or Tracey would have been able to catch up with us, it was best if they stayed at the station, but I didn't have time to tell Leaf, Angie wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

I couldn't dwell on that right now, we had a bigger problem at hand, we had to find Snorlax before it woke up and once again started eating.

The ride was silent, but even if any of us talked we probably wouldn't have been able to hear each other because of the wind howling, and because the speed of the jeep whipped up the wind.

I saw Angie was occasionally using her walkie talkie, I didn't know how she could hear the person on the other side, the wind was so loud I could hardly hear myself think, but I did do a lot of thinking so maybe it wasn't that much of a surprise.

Angie strayed from the path and immediately slowed down, the trees did look like they were beginning to get denser, we came to a stop after a few hundred metres.

I got out of the jeep almost as soon as Angie jumped out.

As I helped Camilla out of the jeep I looked toward the back, I was unable to see the path behind us, we were too far into the shrubbery.

'Come on you two, this way.' Angie said.

Angie ran off and we ran following her.

It wasn't too long till we caught up with her and Angie stopped.

In front of us was a sleeping Snorlax.

Angie immediately went to talk to three of her colleagues.

Camilla and I instead stood rooted to the ground.

This Snorlax looked smaller than the one that we saw blocking the path from Vermillion to Lavender, but it definitely caused more destruction than the one that had originally blocked our path.

I saw that half the trees were wilting while others were blooming with life and fruit. The lovely large orange fruits were beautiful. I understood why Snorlax ate them, they looked really ripe and really tasty. If I was in Snorlax's position, I would also probably rid this island of all of its grapefruits by eating them.

I saw that the other people that Angie worked with were two guys and another girl.

The guy who Angie was talking to was about the same age and height as Angie. He had buzz-cut black hair and his eyes were a dark brown, his skin was tanned. He was wearing a grey polo shirt and brown cargo shorts, he was also wearing brown boots.

I really should have worn shorts.

The other guy had scruffy dirty bond hair, he also had blue eyes, his skin tone was fair. He was wearing a green shirt and blue wave patterned shorts, he was wearing navy blue trainers.

The other girl had slightly darker skin tone than the guy with fair skin, but it wasn't darker than the tanned guy. She had brown curls that fell halfway down her back, she had hazel eyes. She was wearing a green vest top with a white skirt that fell to just below her knees. She was wearing white shoes that were kind of dirty and had a few grass stains on them.

'Camilla, Jordan, this is Quint, Trevor and Natalie.' Angie told us respectively. 'They are more field people than I am, they normally go out and pick the grapefruits while I stay at the station.' Angie explained.

I understood exactly what they were doing, they were monitoring Snorlax to decide how to deal with it.

'So how long do you predict Snorlax has been asleep for?' Camilla asked.

'About two days.' Quint replied.

'It strayed from the path, so it's taken a while for us to find it.' Trevor added.

'So, how much of this island grapefruit trees has it devoured?' I asked.

'You see that faint light over there?' Quint asked pointing toward the opposite direction we came from.

I looked through the dense trees and saw an opening with a light shining through.

'Yes.' I nodded.

'That is the edge of the island, from here to there is the only grapefruit trees that are still alive.' Quint told us.

This was a big problem, what would happen after Snorlax ate all of the trees supplies of fruit?

'We have to figure a way to stop Snorlax before he wakes up and before he continues eating.' Natalie spoke up.

'How long do you think it will be asleep for?' I asked.

'It could be in the next few hours or the next few days.' Quint replied.

'Quint knows more about the problem than anyone else, he is an analyst, he can find out the problem and quickly calculate and estimate the solution or further problems this could cause.' Angie told us.

'Jordan!' I heard Leaf call behind me.

I turned around.

Leaf was on top of her Rapidash with Tracey and the captain behind her.

All three of them got off and Leaf returned her Rapidash.

I forgot that Leaf had a Rapidash, I now remembered the last time she used it, she used it to help get nurse Joy back to the Pokemon centre when she hurt her ankle.

'You weren't kidding when you said you'd be right behind us.' Camilla said.

'As soon as you were out of sight Leaf called out her Rapidash and we started to follow you. Her Rapidash is one of the fasted Rapidash I have ever encountered.' Tracey explained.

The captain walked towards the Snorlax.

'So this is the Pokemon that's causing the problem?' The captain asked.

'Yes.' Quint replied. 'And there inst much more grapefruit on this island, so once it wakes up we have to stop it quickly.' Quint told the captain.

'Are you not able to stop it while its asleep? It seems immobilized while its asleep, I thought that would be easier for you to stop it when it moves less.' The captain continued.

'It would work with any other Pokemon, but Snorlax is relatively large and now it is sleep it is recovering energy. This makes it harder as we don't know how much energy it now has, if we try to stop it once it is full and has eaten a large amount it would be easy, because is it getting drowsy and close to falling asleep it is less alert and easier to stop.' Quint explained.

'Did, you ever think to pick the grapefruit now?' Leaf asked.

'We would, but the grapefruit aren't exactly ripe yet.' Angie replied. 'It would be another week or so before the grapefruit are perfect for picking.' Angie added.

'So why has the Snorlax been eating them for the past, who knows how long and happily munching away on them?' I asked.

'Snorlax doesn't care what it eats, if there is food it will eat it, no matter if its ripe or not. Snorlax needs to eat this much food to keep its energy up.' Quint replied.

'What methods have you tried to capture it?' The captain asked.

I noticed Tracey was sketching the Snorlax while it was asleep. I guess this was good as it would be harder to get a sketch of Snorlax awake.

'We have tried to get a helicopter to take it away, but we couldn't roll the Snorlax onto the net, it was much too heavy and there was ten of us all pushing on one side. It didn't even budge a little, so we figured that Snorlax was too heavy to move.' Trevor told us.

'We also tried to use the jeep to pull, it, but it seems that the truck isn't powerful enough to move it either.' Angie added.

'We tried to wake it up once with the loudest nose and another with the smell of food, but this Pokemon only wakes up when it wants to.' Natalie said.

This Pokemon was extremely troublesome, It could not be taken down while it was asleep, it would not wake up unless it wanted to or was ready to and it couldn't be moved, not even by the power of a jeep.

I suddenly had an idea.

'Has anyone tried to capture it while it was asleep?' I asked.

'Like a Pokemon trainer would?' Quint asked.

'Yes.' I replied.

'No, no-one has, none of us carry Pokeballs, we are grapefruit producers, not Pokemon trainers.' Angie replied. 'Why don't one of you try, you're Pokemon trainers, right? You carry Pokeball's.' Angie suggested.

None of my friends decided to take out a Pokeball and attempt to catch Snorlax, I guess that was a good thing in a way.

Snorlax was a big Pokemon and I did only have four Pokemon for the moment, if I wanted any chance of hoping to battle the champion of the Orange Islands League, I needed six and me catching Snorlax would help as it would mean I would only need one more Pokemon to catch before I would be eligible to battle them.

I would consider my friends before I would attempt to catch Snorlax, I would always put my friends before me. It was true for my friends as the only one who had a full team of six was Camilla. Leaf had four, but she wasn't into building a team, plus she would have rather studied Snorlax in the wild rather than have it on her team. Tracey was still interested in sketching Pokemon rather than catching them. He only had two Pokemon, but he didn't seem like the Pokemon watcher to have large Pokemon. He was the one to have small Pokemon, he had a Marill and Venonat, he didn't even evolve his Venonat into Venomoth, but maybe that was his choice.

The only person who would catch it would be me, and honestly I would love to have a Snorlax on my team, for one it would add more variety to my team and it would stop the destruction of this island.

'Don't any of you have Pokeball's?' Natalie asked.

I hadn't realized that I had spaced out contemplating over the capture of Snorlax for so long.

'Jordan will catch it.' Camilla announced.

Of course Camilla would be the one to suggest that I catch it, she was all about encouraging me, she trusted me and believed in me, if she didn't trust me she wouldn't have told me her story about her tragic past with Team Rocket.

I took out a Pokeball from my bag and enlarged it.

I threw it at Snorlax hoping that when it was asleep it would be easier to catch. Pokemon were apparently easier to catch with status conditions and according to Leaf, who new so much about a lot, sleep was a status condition, but I didn't know if it would be easier to catch, if sleep was encouraged by something other than its own need for it.

The ball harmlessly bounced off of Snorlax and I caught it as it came back to me.

That was strange, the ball didn't even encapsulate Snorlax, it just bounced harmlessly off of Snorlax.

I threw it again, but received the same outcome as before, why was the ball not encapsulating this Snorlax?

Every other Pokemon I tried to catch had been successful, why was Snorlax proving to be so difficult.

I turned and saw my friends shocked expressions. I was embarrassing myself in front of my friends, I beg to what or whoever that this be one thing that they would forget. I didn't want be known as someone who had more than one failed attempt to catch a Snorlax.

I had been known as a lot of things. If I had a list of all the things I achieved, good and bad it would probably be able to cover the whole of this Snorlax and then I would only have room to put down "failed to catch a Snorlax (more than once)".

I would try one last time.

I threw the Pokeball for the third time, this time the Pokeball encapsulated the Snorlax, but before it did I swore I just saw the Snorlax move.

'Did it just...' Leaf started.

'Everyone get back.' Angie said.

So, I wasn't the only one who saw it move slightly before the Pokeball encapsulated it.

Snorlax was awake, and if I was unable to capture it it would get up and start to eat the last of the grapefruit on this island.

My Pokeball started to roll on the ground with Snorlax inside. We waited for a few seconds. I started to think hopeful, that I had captured Snorlax and that the Problem with the Snorlax was all over, unfortunately just before a Pokeball normally dinged to signal the capture, Snorlax busted out.

It yawned and its mouth opened wider than any other other Pokemon's mouth would have, and I looked at in shock, at any moment it would start eating.

'That was a good idea, until now.' Angie commented.

It was a good idea, when Snorlax was asleep, but unfortunately on the third throw it woke up.

'Quint, you said it would be a few hours.' I accused.

He looked at me remembering his comment on Snorlax's sleeping pattern.

'Snorlax is unpredictable with its sleeping, it never eats or sleeps the same amount each time.' Quint replied. 'I said it could be a few hours or days, he's slept for two already, it is a short time for a Snorlax, but compared to other Snorlax, it is remarkably small.' Quint continued.

Not for long it wouldn't be, it would get larger if it kept eating all the grapefruit on this island.

Snorlax started to pluck the grapefruit off the nearest tree. Instead of eating it straight away it put it on the ground and then continued to take the rest of the fruit off the tree and placed them in a pile.

This Snorlax was stockpiling the food before it ate the food.

Now it would be impossible to stop the Snorlax, Snorlax was a large Pokemon and I could only think of two Pokemon that might be able to stop it, unfortunately neither of us had a Gyarados or an Onix.

I decided to try my best though.

'Pikachu, use thunderbolt.'

Pikachu jumped off of my shoulder and fired a thunderbolt straight at Snorlax. It hit, but Snorlax made no indication that it even knew that it was hit by an electric attack.

The thunderbolt had no effect at all, or if it had any it didn't show.

Snorlax just kept plucking the fruit off the trees.

I thought about taking the fruit, but it would be pointless for a few reasons, one: the fruit wasn't ripe, so it should be left. Two: the fruit trees that were now bare were not going to come back alive, they were dead and we couldn't put the fruit back, it didn't work that way.

'You cant stop Snorlax, now it is awake.' Trevor said. 'We'll have to wait until it starts eating or is either asleep again before you attempt to stop it.' Trevor continued.

Great, it was now my obligation to stop Snorlax, I mean its great and all that these people trusted me enough to take care of this, but it seemed like every problem I got myself into I was the one to fix it, I just hope my friends would help and support me in this. They had never let me down before, they helped when we saved the abandoned Lapras, so they should help me with the unstoppable Snorlax.

All nine of us watched as the Snorlax's pile of grapefruit got bigger and bigger.

Evetually the Snorlax stopped and we knew the outcome of this islands produce.

'Well that settles it, this island is all out of grapefruit.' Angie said.

Snorlax started wolfing down the grapefruit like it hadn't eaten in ages, or as if it was the last meal he would ever have.

We watched as the Snorlax kept wolfing down the fruit.

As soon as it finished it might go to sleep, that would be something good as it would then be easy to capture Snorlax, plus this islands supply had run out, so what would Snorlax do now? The other islands were separated from each other by water, but I doubted even if there was a bridge that Snorlax would be able to cross it anyway. I doubted Snorlax would be able to swim, because it was a large Pokemon, and there was no way it could fly or jump to the next island. The islands were too far apart for a Pokemon to jump, even a Pokemon with the most Powerful legs wouldn't be able to reach, it was easy to see the island, it wasn't too far, maybe half a kilometre. I doubted Snorlax could even jump, but it was impossible for Snorlax to fly, it was too big and had no apparatus or equipment to fly.

Snorlax finished its pile about a minute later and walked towards the edge of the island. We followed it and saw it look onto the next island, it looked nothing like this one, it was full and beaming with life.

I couldn't see any grapefruit from here, but the trees were green with life, not like these trees, they all looked like they were wilting, or dead.

'What's the chance of Snorlax reaching the other islands?' I asked.

'Snorlax is a large Pokemon, any attempt to reach the other islands would be futile, it is a Pokemon with almost no motivation, it sleeps and eats, that is all it would do. I think we are fine, Snorlax wouldn't be able to reach the other grapefruit island, so I think the rest of our supply is safe.' Quint told me.

And as soon as he finished Snorlax jumped.

This wasn't like a normal jump someone would do on the ground, it was like Snorlax was jumping off of a trampoline, that's if the trampoline was able to withhold the weight of Snorlax.

Then it dived into the water.

No, I thought.

Snorlax had proved me wrong, not only had it jumped, but it had jumped high into the air.

Now Snorlax had submerged itself in the water.

We all looked to the water for a few seconds, all of us were in utter disbelief that Snorlax would throw itself into the ocean.

Snorlax then re-emerged a few seconds later and I thought that this was not possible, there was no way it could swim also.

Snorlax turned to the second grapefruit island and immediately started to swim, not only was it swimming it was swimming fast.

Everyone of us on this island had underestimated Snorlax, not only was it a lazy eating and sleeping Pokemon, it was a powerhouse, it had not even felt my Pikachu's thunderbolt, but now it was powering itself through the water toward the second grapefruit island.

We waited until it lifted itself out of the water and stand up before it walked through the trees and disappeared.

I turned around, and saw the same shocked expression on eight other people.

This was a crisis and I was determined to stop it.

'Captain!' I started.

He came over his shock and looked at me.

'We need a ship!'

 **So, here I the next chapter done, I wanted to do this chapter in two halves as I thought that it would be different to the anime and that it would show that I was using my own twist and having a mini Snorlax Arc, anyway next chapter should be up soon** **(my updates are super irregular), it may be up in a week or could take a few months, but I will get it up as soon as I can, hope you can bare with me until then.**

 **Chapter thirteen: Snor-lax Part 2**


	13. Snor-lax Part 2

**Disclaimer: Hello again, it is me, the owner of Pokemon...not really...ha-ha...anyway...**

 **Thanks to DRD for beta-ing this chapter**

Snor-lax Part 2

The captain, Leaf and Tracey rode Rapidash back to the boat.

Angie dropped Camilla and I off at the station.

Natalie, Quint and Trevor took the second jeep back to the station.

As soon as Camilla and I got out of the jeep we ran toward the captains boat.

Now normally I wouldn't be in a rush, oh who am I kidding. Anyway...

This was bad and this problem would be better if it was solved sooner rather than later.

As soon as Camilla and I boarded the ship, the captain sailed the boat to the second grapefruit island.

According to Angie there were only Pokemon on the other islands, no-one inhabited any other of the grapefruit isles.

So, not only were the people in the station counting on me, or the whole population in the world who ate grapefruit, but every single Pokemon on every single one of the seven grapefruit islands were also counting on me.

I had a lot of weight on my shoulders, but I had my friends to help me carry the burden.

The first task I did for other people was probably acquire the Pokeflute to wake up a Snorlax, and after that a lot more people depended on me, that was when I started to make a name for myself. I then helped Mr Fiji at the lost tower in Lavender Town. The people of the power plant must have heard about me as they asked me to help them find out the problem was with the generator, as most of the region was running on the emergency power. Those were the only two tasks that I helped in when people heard that I had done something good, the other times were when I ran into Team Rocket, so I got a pretty bad rep with them.

We arrived on the island, each one of us jumping off as the captain couldn't stop, he could however slow down enough for us get on the second island safely.

He said a quick goodbye before returning to the first grapefruit island.

My friends I had a task to find Snorlax before it fell asleep, that was not only going to be hard, it was a near impossible task, we had to find out where he was and make sure we could distract him from food to get him distracted so I could capture him in a Pokeball. This was the only option any of us could think of.

It seems as Angie and her gang had tried everything else, they probably weren't able to locate it while it was awake as it was constantly on the move.

It should be easier for us to find Snorlax, as we found out it was collecting grapefruit and putting them in a pile before it would start to eat them. If we found the pile we would almost definitely find Snorlax.

Neither of my friends or I said anything. We knew what we here for and normally they knew what I was thinking so there wasn't a need to ask.

The only thing to do on the island was wander around until we either found Snorlax, The barren trees or a pile of grapefruit, or if we were lucky we would find all three.

I noticed that Pikachu's ears perked up.

I immediately stopped.

My friends found my stopping a little surprising.

'What is it bud?' I asked.

His ears moved around and he jumped off of my shoulder before dashing off.

I followed him and I knew my friends were on my tail.

Pikachu must have found out where Snorlax was. I saw that Camilla's Pikachu was running beside me, I knew Camilla was right behind me.

Pikachu started to slow down and I understood why, this is where the trees started to look like they were wilting.

I also slowed down before I came to a walk.

Pikachu jumped back on my shoulder.

I scanned the area, but I was unable to see Snorlax or a pile of grapefruit.

I continued through the barren trees. I made sure that I could see the light through them to the edge of this island.

My friends and I reached the edge of the island.

I looked out, but was unable to see the first island we were upon.

'Jordan!' Leaf exclaimed.

I looked to my right and Leaf was pointing to a pile of fruit.

So this where Snorlax's stockpile was, but there was no sign of Snorlax, it was probably picking a tree of its fruit.

The pile was close to the waters edge. I hoped Snorlax was aware of that, it would get mad if any of them fell in the water.

So we had found two out of the three things we were looking for, we were missing the most important thing.

Suddenly a huge blast of power made a great, big explosion behind me.

Thank goodness my friends were all in front of me. If any of them were behind me I didn't know what I would do.

I looked toward the direction of where the blast of power came from and I saw what we were looking for.

It looked angry at us and bigger than when we last saw it.

I knew why it was angry, we were close to its food.

But it used the first attack which had initiated a battle.

I took this as an indication to continue.

But who was I going to use? I had four Pokemon to choose from.

I had Blastoise who was a little smaller than Snorlax, but my Blastoise was strong and I knew he would give me a good battle against this giant beast.

I had Dragonite who was also a powerful Pokemon, he was a little smaller than Blastoise, but I knew it could handle just as much.

Then I had Sandslash. He was a powerful Pokemon, he could deal out a lot of damage, he would also give a good battle against Snorlax.

Lastly there was Pikachu, he had been my buddy for so long, but I found out yesterday his thunderbolt was almost no use on Snorlax.

I knew who I would use. I hadn't used them in a while and she probably deserved a battle. She was the only female Pokemon on my team. I had received her as an egg from Alan when I first battled him. She hatched into Dratini in Saffron City and first battled against Giovanni in Viridian City, where she evolved into Dragonair, then she later evolved in my battle against Liam before I battle Lorelei in the Pokemon league.

'Dragonite, I choose you.'

Dragonite came out and looked at Snorlax who still looked angry.

'We're going to catch this Snorlax, Dragonite. Are you ready?' I asked her.

She nodded, but still looked nervous. I understood, she did once lose against a Snorlax just before the Pokemon league, when she was a Dragonair, so its understandable that she would feel nervous.

'You can do this Dragonite, you are stronger now.' I told her.

She needed to believe in herself, plus I was now a more experienced trainer. There was no way that Snorlax would get the better of us.

'Use dragon pulse.'

Dragonite released a dragon pulse.

Snorlax put its arms in front of it, its hands, palm facing toward us as if that would stop the dragon pulse hitting it.

The dragon pulse hit its hands and pushed it back, but I saw that Snorlax started to get pushed back slower, it kept its footing and tried to push back against the force.

Once the dragoon pulse stopped, Snorlax ran toward Dragonite.

This Snorlax was fast, but I knew that we were faster.

'Extreme speed.' I called.

Snorlax stopped dead in its tracks about six feet from me, Dragonite looked like she hadn't moved, but I knew that Snorlax was in shock from the speed that it had just been hit.

'Use fire punch.' I said.

Dragonite lit one of its hands on fire then clenched its fist it raced to Snorlax who was still in shock and punched around the face.

Snorlax left the ground and fell to the side.

Snorlax was proving to be easy, was it really worth me catching it?

Snorlax got up while I pondered over catching, although Snorlax dint look the least bit tired, I didn't know if it was worth catching.

If it wasn't for that fact that I needed another Pokemon, and that all seven grapefruit island and their Pokemon were counting on me then I don't think I would have bothered with catching Snorlax.

I needed a Pokemon and who knows if I was going to get another chance at catching a Pokemon, Snorlax was essential for me right now.

Snorlax again rat towards Dragonite.

I wanted to try something different, no doubt that extreme speed would work, I didn't think that Snorlax was all that smart, but it would be nice to shake this battle up a little.

'Dragon rage.' I called.

Dragonite enveloped itself in a blue fire and charged towards Snorlax.

As soon as both Pokemon connected the were both pushed back further that they were when they started their attacks.

Snorlax still didn't look tired. I wondered if these attacks were doing anything to Snorlax.

Dragonite looked like she was still doing okay. I wouldn't push her, and I knew she would do anything to beat this Snorlax for me.

This was a battle we needed to win.

'Use dragon pulse.'

Dragonite unleashed a dragon pulse and once again Snorlax blocked it the same way he did before.

'Extreme speed.'

Snorlax was not expecting that. I blinked and saw Snorlax was laying down on the ground. I'm sure extreme speed would be a move that would be a move that would surprise anyone.

I needed to take advantage of this.

'Dragon pulse.' I said.

This time Snorlax was on the ground and it had no way to block it.

The dragon pulse connected with Snorlax and the force pushed it back while it was still on the ground.

Snorlax slowly got up as soon as the attack finished. It looked a little beat up, but it was still able to battle.

This Snorlax was a beast at receiving attacks, no matter how many times I hit it it still looked fine.

Any other Pokemon would have either fainted or looked worn out by Dragonite, but this Snorlax was proving to be tough to tire out.

That was ironic since it slept loads.

Snorlax's glare intensified, now it looked furious, like it wanted to kill Dragonite, but I knew that we could do this, no mater how long it took we would catch Snorlax.

Snorlax opened up its mouth. I knew what was going to happen.

'Get ready Dragonite.' I said.

I knew this would be hard, but we needed this to work or Snorlax would defeat Dragonite and I would have failed at catching Snorlax.

I saw the hyper beam just before Snorlax shot it.

'Fly!' I called.

Like a bullet, Dragonite shot up into the air, the hyper beam shot towards me.

'Jordan!' I heard Camilla scream.

The hyper beam brushed past me, by a few inches, but I knew it wouldn't hit me, or I would have moved. Besides Snorlax's target was not me it was Dragonite.

Dragonite landed in front of me, it looked at me in concern. I nodded at her showing her that I was okay.

Now Snorlax wouldst be able to attack for a while we would use that as our advantage.

'Use ice punch on its feet. I said.

Dragonite took off and its hand glowed a bluish white before it turned into ice. It hit both of Snorlax's feet and Snorlax was stuck in the position it was now in. It would not be able to move.

'Deliver a fire punch.' I said.

Dragonite fired up its fist and hit Snorlax across the face with its flaming fist.

Snorlax was hit with so much force that the ice at its feet broke and it flew back a few feet.

Snorlax slowly got up.

I saw that it now started to struggle to get up.

I saw it cringe as it started to get up. I saw a burn mark on its cheek.

It must have the burnt condition, this just got a whole lot easier.

Even with the burnt condition we couldn't let our guard down.

'Dragonite, we need to stay focused, even though we have an advantage, we need to keep at it.' I said.

Snorlax was weak, but its health was superior to other Pokemon I had caught in the wild, or any Pokemon I had encountered in the wild.

I saw Snorlax's glare, the saying "if looks could kill" ran through my head. If it was anymore intensifying looks could kill.

I saw hatred in its eyes.

If Snorlax didnt have so much health I would have already captured it. We wouldnt have to deal with it right now.

Snorlax was probably ready to use another attack.

It hid its pain and started to run towards us. Had it not learned yet, we already had a way to counter it, but I decided to do something different.

'Dragonite, use fire punch.'

Dragonite fired up its fist, but before Snorlax reached us it jumped up, I knew it could jump, but I hadnt imagined it to do it in the battle.

I was in shock so I couldn't have Dragonite do anything.

Snorlax landed on Dragonite.

That was not a move I was expecting.

I was now worried as what had happened to Dragonite, I hope it had not fainted.

I felt a surge flow through me, and I knew as soon as the surge left that Dragonite was struggling underneath the weight of Snorlax.

'Dragonite, use dragon rush.'

We saw a small blue glow from underneath Snorlax.

The blue glow enveloped Snorlax and it was thrown away and broke a few trees along the way.

Snorlax landed about twenty metres away.

Dragonites glow was slowly disappearing.

I think my aura had acivated when Dragonite was under Snorlax, but it disappeared as soon as I felt it.

Dragonite looked a little worn out, maybe the attack and move had taken a great amount of power and it had now had its effect on Dragonite. Dragonite was still standing nevertheless.

Snorlax was not so fotunate, it was still laying on the ground. I saw that it was struggling to get up, but it wasn't only due to the damage it had been dealt with, but the size of it. Sure, Snorlax was a powerhouse and it had health that was almost unimaginable, but there was always sometime that it would wear out, and I hoped that time was soon. I was getting tired of the length of how long Snorlax had been able to stand back up after reccieving an onslaught of attacks from Dragonite.

I had two moves that I knew I could use and hopefully I would be able to catch Snorlax.

'Extreme speed!' I called.

Before I could blink Snorlax had moved back, but It was still on its feet. It moved back a few more feet.

It opened its mouth as if nothing had happened, this was it, now or never.

'Draco meteor.' I said.

Dragonite tensed its whole body and any second now the sky would rain with glowing rocks.

Snorlax's hyper bean shot stright toward Dragonite and Dragonite was forced back, she fell to the floor.

As soon as the hyper beam was finished Snorlax galede at us.

It took a step forward befre a purple glowing rock hit him, he looked upwards and a shower of rocks hit snorlax with so much force he was on the floor within seconds and loads more rocks kept hitting him.

I walked towrd Snorlax with a standard Pokeball and looked at him.

He looked at me with fatigue on his face, he couldnt stand much longer.

I touched the Pokeball to his head and he was sucked in.

The Pokeball rolled in my hand and I waited in aticipation.

This was it, I had to catch Snorlax, the grapefruit islands relied on me.

A ding signaled a few seconds later and I was happy.

I now had five Pokemon, I had one more Pokemon to obtain before I could challenge the leader of the Orange islands, but I also had two other badges to obtain just yet.

I wondered how long it would be until I gained another badge, it had been a while sine I had won my last one.

So much had happened since then.

My friends and I had wound up in Characific valley, we met up with Liza and she had many Charizard, my Charizard was left there and had started to train with them, we met a sailor who took us to the first grapefruit island and we had found out what was happening, we had seen what was causing what was happening, we had been told to stop what was happening before it got worse, it unfortunately got worse, and now we had stopped it from becoming a catastrophe.

I had captured Snorlax and we were ready to tell Angie and her team along with the sailor.

I returned Dragonite.

'Well done.' I praised. Dragonite had excelled in the battle and I was extremely proud of her, she had not battled, and after so long of not battling, it was great to see her battling confidently, like she had battled every day, she was the second most powerful Dragon Pokemon I had ever known, save for Lance's.

'That was a great battle, Jordan.' Camilla congratulated me.

'Are you happy now?' Leaf asked me.

'Huh?' I asked confused.

'You seemed unhappy because you only had four Pokemon, now you have five, almost a full team.' Leaf explained.

'Oh, yeah, it's great I have another Pokemon.' I replied 'I just need to have another before I can battle the champion of the Orange Islands League.' I continued.

'Jordan, not to get ahead of yourself, but at the moment you only have two badges.' Tracey told me.

As if I needed reminding of that fact, it was hard to forget that I only had two badges.

'Then what are we waiting for?' Camilla asked rhetorically, 'Let's tell Angie the good news and sail on to Jordan's third Gym badge.'

My friends and I made our way around the island until we could see the main grapefruit island.

We waved and jumped about, after about thirty seconds we saw a boat heading our way, the sailor must have been coming to collect us.

He slowed down so we could jump on.

'So you did it?' He asked.

I showed him the Pokeball which contained Snorlax. I could not let Snorlax out, it would most likely capsize the ship.

'Well, Jordan, you are certainly a great trainer. I'm sure you'll be known around the whole of the Orange Islands for saving the worlds grapefruit supply.' The sailor told me.

That was just great, not only had I made a name for myself in Kanto, for good and bad reasons, but now I was going to be known around the whole of the Orange Islands Archipelago. It wasn't as if I needed the attention.

I was happy travelling with my friends and doing the one thing I loved, collecting badges.

But no, I had to gain the attention from most, if not all the people in the region. I wouldnt be surprised if I was almost forgotten in Kanto now, it was last year I had collected badges, there might even be a new Champion this year, someone may take Lance's place.

Why was I dwelling on Kanto? I was in the Orange islands.

We arrived on the first island where Angie was waiting for us.

'You stopped it?' Angie asked.

I showed her the Pokeball.

'Brilliant!' She exclaimed. 'Come lets go inside.' She said.

Angie led the way into the station, but it looked different.

The desks were arranged in a nice order, there were stacks of paper neatly organised, there were a few flat boxes, a few opened and only a few stacked.

Quint, Trevor and Natalie were sorting out the boxes and had rearranged the look of the ststion.

'Wow.' I breathed.

Five chairs were arranged on the opposite side of Angies desk, which now looked neat and it had a computer on it.

'So...' She started. 'How did it go?' She asked.

'With much difficulty.' I replied.

'I didnt think you would do it. I thought we were doomed to be honest, but you've proven yourself to be an outstanding trainer, Jordan.' Angie said.

Angie didnt believe in me, that was a little disheartening, I ever rarely belived in myself either, but I was allowed to doubt myself, it felt a little worse when someone other than myself doubted me.

My friends were different, they never doubted me, not even Tracey.

My friends and I had known Tracey for a while now, it felt like I had been travelling with Camilla, Leaf and Tracey for years, but it had only been a few months.

My friends believed I was the best Pokemon trainer, they believed I was strong enough to go all the way. But they also kept me level headed, so I didn't get too far ahead of myself.

'I believed in Jordan.' The sailor told Angie.

'As did I.' Quint said behind one of the desks sorting out a box.

'He seemed pretty worthy to me.' Natalie added.

Trevor kept silent, perhaps he was too busy with sorting out boxes, or he believd that keeping quiet was the best option.

'Congratulations anyway.' Angie said.

'Thanks. I said.

'I'll take you to the next island.' The sailor said.

We all got up and followed the sailor out of the building and he took us to his boat.

'So what will you all be up t nw then?' The sailor asked when we left the station.

Camilla was the first to answer.

'Travelling the rest of the islands to experience everything the Orange Islands Archipelago has to offer.'

I knew what Camilla meant, that was the main reason we were her, we were not here just for the sole purpose of colleting badges, even thought that was the main reason I was here, it wasnt the only reason. I was here for my friends also, if they wanted anything then I would help them and support them as much as they did with me.

'Collecting as much data on as many Pokemon as I can.' Leaf replied.

I knew Leaf knew so much already, but she was taking he knowledge to a new level, I think she was exceeding Professor Oak's knowledge. I had no doubt she would be the first person to know everything about every Pokemon, if she knew everything about any one Pokemon I wouldn't be surprised. She was so information driven, like it was her oxygen.

'Sketching Pokemon as well as learning how to take care of them and the medicine that works best for them.' Tracey replied.

Tracey always loved taking care of Pokemon, I was surprised his sketchpad wasnt full, he loved sketching Pokemon, it helped him learn about how healthy the Pokemon were.

'I will be collecting Gym badges and the I will take on the champion.' I said.

'Well I wish you all luck.' The sailor said.

A few minutes later we reached the next island and I was glad that the Snorlax problem was over.

'Welcome to Moro Island.' The sailor said.

 **Well here is the next chapter, sorry it's a little short, but oh well. Next chapter is kind of a filler, but I thought it might be good to add a filler after these last five chapters were nescessary and would help with the plot, there are only three filler chapters left in this arc including the next one. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, it shouldnt be too long to the nect one.**

 **Chapter Fourteen: A Haunter Ship**


	14. A Haunter Ship

**Disclaimer: Woohoo...wait...sorry...whats that? I dont own Pokemon? Oh okay.**

 **Thanks to DRD for beta-ing this chapter.**

 ** **Chapter 14: A Haunter Ship****

The captain did ask a lot of questions before he docked the boat onto Moro island, especially about what I had done in Kanto. I told him my whole journey, and he seemed even more amazed by my feats, even my placing in the Indigo league. He then proceeded to tell me that if anyone could beat the champion of the Orange Islands League, it would be me. I was grateful that he believed in me.

As soon as we docked on the island I saw that there was a huge cliff a few feet from where we docked. There was no way I was going to risk scaling a cliff. Not again.

I looked around and saw a wooden set of stairs leading up the side of the cliff.

We all got off of the boat, including the captain.

'I wish to give you all the best in your endeavours, and if I dont see you again, good luck and goodbye.' The captain said. He jogged away up the wooden stairs.

I hoped that was the way to civilization, I hadnt seen a Pokemon centre in a while and I needed to heal my Pokemon.

'Jordan?' Leaf asked. 'Why don't you call professor Oak, you can tell him you caught a new Pokemon.' Leaf suggested.

That was a good idea. It was a Pokemon I never thought I would catch. But professor Oak would sure be happy to know that I had acquired a new Pokemon, since I had five when I last spoke to him. I had five now, but Charizard was away, training.

My friends and I reached the top of the stairs and found out that we were in a town. It was great to be among more people in a bustling little town again. I wondered how big this island was, behind the town was higher ground with lots of trees. I didnt know what was beyond that, but we may find out tomorrow, it was starting to get late, and we would need to sleep, if we were going to continue on our journey tomorrow.

As we walked through the town people were rushing around rather quickly, as if there was some big event happening tonight, maybe the nurse Joy at the Pokemon centre would know.

We found the Pokemon centre pretty easily, and as soon as I entered, I made a beeline straight for the counter.

My friends went to one of the tables.

'Hello, how may I help you?' Nurse Joy asked.

'Could you take my Pokemon, please?' I asked.

'Of course.' She said, accepting the offer. I placed four of my Pokeballs on one of the trays, while Pikachu jumped on the other one.

I quickly went to the phones and called Professor Oak.

He picked up on the third ring.

'Jordan.' Professor Oak said.

'Hello professor.' I greeted him.

'What can I do for you?' He asked.

'I was just calling to say that I have another Pokemon.' I told him.

'You now have a team of six?' He asked. 'That's wonderful, you would be able to take on the champion..'

'Actually.' I interuppted him. 'I still only have five.' I told him.

'Why is that?' He asked confused.

'We met a girl in Characific Valley called Liza. She trains Charizard, I decided that it would be better for my Charizard to train there for a while, plus it would get stronger without me dragging it down. It loves battling and I haven't really had any in a while. I thought my travelling would bore it. So it instead stays there, unless I want it to travel with me again.' I said.

'Are you saying you don't want it to train with you?' Professor Oak asked me.

'No, but I just think it would benefit him. Plus he seemed to like the other Charizard there. Liza said it would benefit him as he would be around other Charizard.' I said.

'Okay. So what's this new Pokemon you caught?' The Professor asked.

'I'll send you the data.' I said.

I put the Pokedex into the small hole and the data was transferred.

'Ah, a Snorlax.' The professor said after a few seconds of silence.

'Yeah, it was raiding the grapefruit islands of its supply, and the only way to stop it was to capture it. I battled it with Dragonite, it was a pain to capture though.' I told him.

'You stopped it from raiding all seven grapefruit islands?' Professor Oak asked, a bit surprised.

'Well, actually, it raided a whole lot of the first island. My friends and I arrived a bit late, but we stopped it mid raid through the second island.' I explained.

'You saved the region from a Snorlax.' The professor said, actually shocked.

'Kinda.' I replied.

'I'm sure everyone will be thankful of you.' The professor said.

'Thanks.' I said, getting a little embarrassed.

'So, where exactly are you calling me from?' The Professor wondered, wanting to know.

'Moro island.' I said.

'You know Jordan, it might be a good idea to visit the museum there. It might give you an insight to the Orange Island League and how it all started.' The professor stated.

'That might be a good idea.' A familiar source of the voice said..

I spun around and saw Camilla.

'Hello, Camilla.' I greeted.

'Hey professor.' Camilla replied. 'Jordan, the professor had a great idea. You know all about the Indigo League. It would be great to know all about the Orange Island League also.'

'Yeah, but I only know about the Indigo League because of my dad, Blue and all the books I read.' I reminded her.

'I hear the museum has extensive knowledge on the League there. It might be a good idea to visit nevertheless.' the professor said.

'Okay, sure.' I said.

I was sure that I would be able to get out of going with the professor, but Camilla would have none of that. She was too stubborn and I would eventually go anyway, who knows. I might learn things here like I did at the Pewter museum.

'Well I will leave you now, good luck with the rest of your journey.' The professor said.

'Thanks professor, goodbye.' I said.

He shut off the connection.

The ding signalled for my Pokémon before neither Camilla or I could say anything.

I went to collect my Pokemon.

I got myself something to eat as did Camilla, it seemed as if Tracey and Leaf already got themselves a meal.

My friends and I made small talk after I told them about the museum, before we headed to bed.

I wondered how eventful tomorrow would be.

 _I found myself standing up, where loads of tiki looking creatures were looking down at me from a higher level. I was standing on a pebble beach, with my friends Camilla, Leaf, and Tracey at my side._

 _The creatures with masks freaked me out a little._

 _I stumbled and my back hit the front of the boat we just came off of. The storm took us to this island. It wasn't planned, and now I think I know the reason why no one came to this island._

 _I struggled to look at all the tiki creatures at one time. They all distracted me from another._

 _Their colourful faces were so big that the only other thing that were visible were their legs and feet. The legs looked human and their feet were bare, but also looked like humans, but I couldn't be too sure as it was near impossible to tear my gaze away from their faces._

 _They jumped down onto the pebble beach and started to make noises, like squeals, howls, yells, clicks, and other various mindless creature noises. I'm glad my friends were behind me._

 _I couldn't walk back any further, so I leaned back._

 _'Stop!' I heard someone yell._

 _That's when I woke up._

I saw that the sun had started to filter through the blinds, but the ony one that was up was Leaf, she was not in the room.

I got dressed quickly, not wanting to wake up Pikachu. I thought he could use some sleep due to the times I had woken him up with a jolt, he hadn't liked that at all.

I walked out into the almost bare Pokemon centre lobby and found Leaf sitting at a table with a breakfast bowl, but she wasnt eating from it, she was just staring at it.

I, instead of getting myself anything, decided to see what was up with Leaf before Camilla and Tracey woke up. Leaf and I had been childhood friends, so I felt like she could tell me anything.

I sat down opposite of Leaf, but she didn't raise her head to acknowledge me. Instead, she kept staring at her bowl.

'Hey, Leaf.' I greeted her. 'What's up?'

She looked at me with sadness splashed upon her face.

I instantly realised what she had been so wrapped up in.

'Leaf, it's been months. What triggered it?' I asked.

'I had a dream.' She replied.

 _Oh,_ I thought.

Leaf had been great for months, not thinking about Liam. Now she had a dream about him and the sadness just came rushing back.

'You want to talk about it? I asked.

Leaf let out an exasperated sigh.

I knew that Leaf would tell me as she trusted me more than anyone else. The only other person that knew about Liam was Camilla, but Camilla didn't have as close of a relationship to Liam than either Leaf or I did.

Before Leaf could say anything Camilla came out, with both Pikachu in tow.

Camilla instantly saw Leaf's expression.

Leaf hid herself away, she didn't want to explain to Camilla. I understood, I wouldn't really share any of my secrets with Tracey right now.

'Liam.' I mouthed.

Camilla nodded in understanding before she went to get some breakfast.

Once she got her breakfast she came back and sat next to me.

'Do you want to talk about it Leaf?' Camilla asked.

Leaf looked up in surprise.

'Really?' She asked.

'Sure.' Camilla replied. 'We're friends now, right?'

Camilla then turned to me, I knew the look, this was a girl talk. Even if I was here I wouldn't listen, but Camilla gave me look to leave them. I stood up and made my way to where the breakfast was.

Pikachu jumped on my shoulder and looked at the breakfast, I knew exactly what he was looking for. He found it almost immediately and jumped onto the table.

I chuckled and kept chuckling as Pikachu tried to drag one of the ketchup bottles off the table towards where Camilla and Leaf where talking.

I kept scanning the breakfast, looking for something I might eat.

'Hey, Jordan.' Tracey greeted me, as he came up to me.

'Morning Tracey.' I replied back, before we heard something open up.

The doors to the Pokemon centre opened.

I turned around and saw a guy who looked like he had ran a mile.

'It's been stolen!' He yelled.

Most people looked up at him in shock, including Camilla and Leaf.

He then ran out.

It was a few seconds before people started talking, and another few seconds before everyone in the Pokemon centre ran out.

My friends and I dropped everything, we ran out with everyone else and followed the crowd.

Everyone stopped in front of a large building. This building was grey and had columns holding up a large carving of fossilized Pokemon, maybe they were the most popular in this place. I guessed this was the museum that professor Oak talked about, we were going to come here today to see the old Orange Islands Trophy.

The crowd was murmuring, and wasn't moving any closer. My friends and I pushed ourselves to the front to see what the commotion was.

'It's been stolen?' I heard a man ask.

'But it was only here yesterday.' A woman said.

Even though this item had been stolen it was still the talk. I had a feeling I knew what they were talking about, but I didnt need to ask them.

A sign with big red letters read my suspicion.

"ORANGE ISLANDS LEAGUE TROPHY MISSING (MOST LIKELY STOLEN) REWARD FOR REPOSSESSION"

'What?' I asked aloud, in surprise. I knew that it was the most likely reason as to why it wasn't there, but it was still a surprise as to why someone would steal it.

My friends also looked shocked.

'We should go and look for it.' Camilla said.

I agreed with her.

'There is one problem though.' Leaf started. 'We don't even know where to start.'

I knew Leaf was right, we had the whole of this island to look and, the thieves might have left the island already, we had almost no chance of finding the trophy. It was the old trophy, it would give me an insight to what the new one would look like.

I would have loved to have learned all about the Orange Islands League, and now I had almost no way to know.

'If you're thinking about looking for it, then I suggest the abandoned ship, off the harbour by about a mile.' A familiar voice said behind us.

'Akari?' Camilla asked.

'Hey.' Akari replied.

'Fancy seeing you here.' Leaf said.

'I was going to say the same. It seems you guys are following me.' She said.

We all chuckled.

'So, the abandoned ship?' Tracey asked.

'Yeah. That's where they retrieved it from.' Akari responded.

'That's a silly place to take it to.' Leaf replied.

'Exactly, no one will think to look there because it was retrieved from there. These thieves are professionals. Just be careful and maybe I'll see you guys soon.' Akari said before she bolted off.

She definitely seemed shy. I could tell she felt uncomfortable in this crowd and when we first met her she seemed like she had so much confidence, but that just a facade she put on.

Well at least we knew where to start. I was really confused, it seemed that Akari knew so much about loads.

My friends and I moved away from the crowd, no-one paid us any attention, so we made it to the docks with no problem, most of the people on this island were outside the museum anyway.

We made it to the docks and saw a dark ship in the distance. It looked like it had crashed into a large rock that had protruded from under the water, but the ship didn't sink. It was like that rock was embedded so much into it that it wouldn't sink.

We didn't have a boat, or ship to reach the boat. So, we had to find another way.

Camilla and I looked at each other. We both had the same idea.

I unclipped a Pokeball for my belt and waited for Camilla to call her Pokemon out.

'Set the stage, Fearow.' Fearow came out.

'Blastoise, I choose you.' I called.

Blastoise came out and immeditely awaited intructions.

'There is a ship over there, do you think you could get Leaf and I to it?' I asked.

Blastoise didnt give me a straight answer, instead he dived into the water.

I jumped ont Blastoises shell, and helped Leaf of while Camilla and Tracey climbed onto Fearow.

Blastoise sped off towards the boat almost immediately.

Leaf put her hands round my waist, to stop herself from falling off.

I never knew Blastoise could move this fast through water. It was if he was a jet ski.

Fearow was faster though, Camilla and Tracey landed on the deck of the boat about twenty seconds before Leaf and I started to climb the ladder that was hung over the side.

Camilla and I called back our Pokemon.

I looked around the deck of the ship, and saw it looked just like a normal wooden ship. Sure it creaked, but that was probably because it was old.

Some of the windows were cracked and broken, but this was, as I stated before, an old ship.

'Any idea where we should start looking?' Tracey asked.

I saw under where the helm to the ship was, there was a large room underneath it.

'Maybe we should check in there.' I said ponting to the room.

My friends and I tried to open the door, but it was locked.

'Great, how are we supposed to get in?' Camilla asked.

'Hitmonchan.' Leaf said, calling out a Pokemon neither Camilla or I had seen before.

'Hitmonchan, the punching Pokemon. Hitmonchan is said to possess the spirit of a boxer who had been working toward a world championship. This Pokémon has an indomitable spirit and will never give up in the face of adversity.'

Hitmonchan is a tan, humanoid Pokémon. There are five blunt protrusions on top of its head, and it has extensions resembling pads over its shoulders. It appears to be wearing a light purple tunic and kilt, as well as red boxing gloves and light purple boxing shoes.

'Hitmonchan, use Power-Up Punch.' Leaf ordered.

Hitmonchan's gloves were surrounded in a red light before it gave two powerful punches to the door, the first one broke the lock and the second broke the doors off of its hinges.

The doors flew across the room and broke as they hit a desk.

As soon as the doors fell to the ground and the dust from the force settled we saw a golden trophy on the desk.

It had a squashed cone base with small inscriptions on it, a Pokéball on top was held up by a thin cylindrical column. On either side of the Pokéball were handles and on top of the Pokéball was a smaller sphere.

Is that it. Is that the old Orange Islands League trophy?

It must have been, it was the only thing that doesn't have any dust on it.

I looked at it in awe, thinking. Soon, I will have a trophy like that.

I just needed two more Orange Islands League badges and then I would battle the leader of the Orange Crew, upon beating him, he would award me with a trophy.

I walked toward the trophy and tried to pick it up, but it wouldn't budge. I tried with all my might, but it wouldn't move. Not even a little bit.

'Guys?' I asked.

They all looked at me in surprise, like they were as confused as I was as to why I was unable to move the trophy from its current position.

'Help?' I asked.

Immediately they all came to my aid.

We all grabbed a part of the trophy.

'One..two...three.' I said and we all pulled, but we still couldn't make it budge, not even a tiny bit. It was like an invisible force was preventing us from taking the trophy, or like it was glued to the table.

I heard a shill laugh and immediately jumped back when a misty figure came into view.

There was a black sphere that was surrounded by a purple haze. Its mouth was agape with two small fangs protruding from its upper jaw. It has two semi-circular eyes above the mouth and two small pupils.

I had no doubt that this was a Pokemon, so I took out my Pokedex to scan it.

'Gastly, the gas Pokemon. Gastly is largely composed of gaseous matter. When exposed to a strong wind, the gaseous body quiclkly dwindles away. Groups of this Pokemon cluster under the eaves of houses to escape the ravages of wind.'

Well, I understood why the Pokemon was in this room, and I also understood why we couldn't move the trophy.

Two more Gastly appeared, well they definitley knew how to keep something in place, wait were these gastly the thieves? That may be why no-one could see anyone taking it, we couldn't see Gastly till now.

The two broken doors were lifted up and put back together before they were put back in place of where they were before hitmonchan busted them open.

Just then, two different figures hazed into view. They looked a little different to Gastly.

They were a purple gaseous Pokemon. It had a round head with two disembodied hands. Its hands have three pointy fingers. I head has three spiked protusions on either side of its head. Its eyes are triangular with small pupils. The gases that make up its head curve downward to from several pointed teeth that frame a pink mouth and long tongue. Its body tapers into a jagged tail.

I took out my Pokedex to scan this Pokemon.

'Haunter, the gas Pokemon, and the evolved form of Gastly. Haunter is a dangerous Pokemon. If one beckons you while floating in darkness, you must never approach it. This Pokemon will try to lick you with its tongue and steal your life away.'

Okay. Did not want to meet this Pokemon in the darkness. Their Pokédex entry was enough to give me shivers.

Although, this time there was only two Haunter and not three, like there were Gastly.

I wondered if Haunter had an evolution. I did not want to meet that Pokemon, not if it was going to seem scarier than these Haunter, and them closing the doors made this experience a bit worse.

I felt the heat of the trophy decrease miraculously. I jerked my hand away in surprise, my friends did the same, our eyes were still tansfixed on the Haunter.

I saw a small black round hole, and a Pokemon elevated from within the hole.

This Pokemon was dark purple and had a whole body, it had a roundish body and short stubby arms and legs, each hand and foot had three digits. The eyes were red and large and the mouth was pernamently etched into a sinister ggrin, like it was enjoying striking terror into people. It had two large ponted ears and mutiple spines covering its back, It also has a stubby tail.

I took out my Pokedex, I was almost unable to check what it had to say about this Pokemon.

'Gengar, the shadow Pokemon and the final evolution of Gastly. Sometimes on a dark night, your shadow thrown by a streetlight will suddenly startlingly overtake you. It is actually a Gengar running past you, pretending to be your shadow.'

Okay, that was almost as scary as Haunter.

So, there was only one Gengar, was he like the gang leader.

He appeared right in front of me, like I was the one who it wanted to torment first.

'Why are you here?' It asked.

'Huh?' I asked aloud.

'Why are you here?' It asked again.

'We're here because we are looking for thieves.' Camilla replied.

'No thieves here little girl.' The Gengar said. 'Maybe you should look for thieves on that island, they took my master's trophy.' The Gengar explained.

'Your master?' I asked,

Suddenly the Gengar changed shape into a man.

This man was fully grown and he had long brown hair that was tied at the back before it spreaded out just below his shoulders, he also had a strand of long hair that was spiked up at the front, it could have easily fallen to his neck. He had a small moustache. His eyes were brown. He had a white long sleeved shirt, a reddish-maroon coloured waitscoat was over that with metal buttons connected the whole way down with chain links. He had a blue tuft sticking out from under his shirts collar. He had puffy dark green trousers and white socks that went up past his knees, no skin was showing. He had brown boots that upturned at the end.

'This is our master.' The Gengar, who looked like their master, said.

The master's image rippled and disappeared until only Gengar was left.

'We have been guarding our master's trophy for centuries. Until a few days ago.' The Gengar continued.

'Centuries? A few days ago?' Camilla asked.

'Yes, three centuries to be exact, and yes, a few days ago, some people came and took the trophy from us and took it back to the island.' Gengar replied.

'I understand. Just because your master isn't around doesn't mean that the trophy still shouldn't be where he was, you just want to keep his memory alive by keeping the trophy here.' I replied.

I knew that was what my Pokemon would do if I won a trophy. They would keep my trophy that I won with them, forever.

'So you understand why we can't let anybody take it?' The Gengar asked.

'Yes, we understand.' Camilla replied.

I knew that it would be bad for people to take something that didn't belong to them, and these Pokemon were only protecting something that they had to remind them of their master.

I decided it would be better to leave the trophy here.

The reward of finding the trophy didnt matter, these Pokemon just took back what was rightly theirs.

'We will leave here without the trophy.' I said.

'Thank you, young Trainer.' The Gengar said.

Leaf and Tracey looked surprised, but I didn't understand why.

I called out Blastoise, while Camilla called out Fearow.

We both got back to the island and saw the ship rise from where it was and float away into the sky.

The Pokemon must want to take it somewhere where no-one would find the trophy again.

My friends and I went to the Pokemon centre as it started to get dark. There was no point in going to the museum to explain, no-one would believe a few children.

Akari was in the Pokemon centre, it was like she was waiting for us.

'So, did you find the trophy?' Akari asked.

'Yes.' Leaf said a little irritated, but I didnt understand why.

'Camilla and Jordan thought it best to leave it where it was.' Tracey added

Akari looked confused.

'Why?' She asked.

'Yeah, why?' Leaf asked, like she demanded an explanation.

'Gengar told us that the Pokemon didn't want us to take their master's trophy.' I replied.

'Funny, I didn't hear anything.' Tracey replied.

'Your powers?' Leaf guessed calming down drastically.

'Must be?' Camilla asked, looking at me.

'Wait a sec, back up a bit.' Akari started. 'What powers?' She asked.

Tracey looked just as confused.

Camilla and I were yet again having to explain what our aura and ESP meant.

Both Akari and Tracey listened until we were finished.

'That explains a lot.' Tracey said.

'It seems like you both had a thought conversation with that Pokemon.' Leaf said.

'And you can't control when this happens?' Akari asked.

'No.' Camilla responded.

'Well, I think it's nice.' Tracey started. 'You honouring the Pokemons wishes to keep the trophy with them, so they could honour their master's memory.'

'I went there earlier today and was scared off by the Pokemon, I must not have the abilities you guys have.' Akari said.

'Wait.' I started.

'You had already been there?' Camilla asked.

Akari looked down in shyness.

'Sorry.' She mumbled. 'But I thought if anyone could get the trophy back, it was you guys.' She said.

'Why didn't you tell us?' Leaf asked.

'Well it wouldn't have been as much of an adventure would it, you wouldn't have been surprised, or known why the trophy was there, just like I didn't.' Akari replied.

Camilla and I yawned simutaneously.

Today had been an eventful day and I was feeling it.

'Night guys.' I said.

Camilla and I resided into our rooms, while Akari Leaf and Tracey stayed at the table.

I quickly changed into my PJ's and got into bed, as did Camilla.

I fell asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.

 ** **So, here is chapter 14. I hope you guys liked it. Next chapter should be quite eventful, you will find out soon enough. Sorry if anyone seems OOC. Anyway, see you next time.****

 ** **Chapter fifteen: A Scythe for Tracey****


	15. A Scythe for Tracey

**Disclaimer: Okay, here we go, with another chapter, by the way I don't own Pokemon.**

A Scythe for Tracey

 _I was looking down, on myself and Camilla._

 _We were both looking ahead of us. I looked in that direction and saw that a forest was partly on fire._

 _'What's happening?' I heard a familiar voice say next to me._

 _'Camilla?' I asked._

 _She looked at me._

 _'Jordan?' She asked in complete surprise. 'Is that us?' She asked, pointing to the two figures that just ran into the forest?_

 _'I think so.' I replied._

 _'We look a little older.' She said. 'And our clothes are different.' She observed._

 _Before we could do anything we floated to the ground._

 _I looked around and realized a town just behind us. I didn't know where it was, I definitely hadn't been here before._

 _I looked into the forest, but it was dark._

 _Camilla and I walked in and saw that there was little light filtering through the trees but not a lot. It wasn't like Viridian forest. The forest didn't have an open area, not like Viridian forest, it had a path leading to the right, but I couldn't see much past this._

 _'What is this place?' Camilla asked._

 _I didn't answer, I had no idea what this place was, it was foreign to me too, but I guessed that the older versions of Camilla and I knew where to go as I couldn't see then any more._

 _Camilla and I started to follow the path. I began to smell smoke, but I couldn't see it. It was only faint at this moment._

 _I saw up ahead a few metres it veered to the right again. Once we turned the corner I could see the smoke to my left, it was quite big, the fire must have spread a bit._

 _The older versions of Camilla and I were heading towards the fire, then again, so were Camilla and I, if a Pokemon was in trouble we would help it._

 _The path then split in half, it went straight ahead and to the left. I believed that this forest was quite big, so the fire would be further through._

 _'Which way?' Camilla asked._

 _'This way.' I said without hesitation, I was pointing straight ahead._

 _Camilla looked at me with a confused expression._

 _'Are you sure?' She asked._

 _I looked to the left figuring out, if I was wrong. If I was wrong we may not make it out of here, this was a big decision to make._

 _I then thought that if there were any more path splits we'd run into this problem again. If we did I had to make a split second decision. Camilla would either have to trust me or go in another direction. I may not be able to protect her if she made a different decision to me, she had followed me before, so I didn't think she would go a different way to me now._

 _'No.' I replied, but continued walking straight anyway._

 _We came to another splitting of paths, this was straight and right, up ahead I saw another splitting, so I continued straight, this time I didn't stop._

 _The smell of smoke grew stronger._

 _This next splitting of paths was left and straight._

 _I thought we had gone straight too many times, so I took a left and found that the path turned left again a few metres in front of me. Then there was a long pathway almost as long as the length it took us to get here._

 _Camilla and I looked toward this path._

 _Two people passed through us as if we weren't here. I almost forgot we were in a dream or vision._

 _If any Pokemon were in danger we wouldn't be able to save them anyway._

 _The people that passed through us continued to run, maybe they were friends with the older Camilla and I._

 _One looked like and older version of Brock, the other looked to be about the same age as the older Camilla and I, but I hadn't seen her before, she had long light brown hair and she was wearing a white dress that fell to halfway down her shins, before I could get a better look they turned to the left once they reached the other side._

 _I looked to the right and saw that was where the smoke was coming from._

 _What was so important that they turned left?_

 _Camilla and I made our way to the other side of the forest._

 _We came to the fork, to the right was a large pond of water and to the left there was bright green light._

 _Camilla and I ran to where it was coming from, but the bright green light disappeared before we could reach it._

 _In its place was what looked like some kind of shrine and a small boy._

 _'Hello.' The boy said, looking at Camilla and I._

I woke up with a jolt.

I immediately looked over to Camilla, she was breathing heavily like me, she was also sweaty, I felt a bit sweaty too.

I slowly got out of bed in my PJ's. I had a black short sleeved top and dark green shorts.

Pikachu was still on the covers sleeping, so was Camilla's Pikachu and Cubone.

Camilla also slipped out of bed.

She was wearing a short sleeved purple t-shirt and pink shorts.

We both made our way out of the room, still in our PJ's, to the Pokemon centre lobby.

No-one was up, we looked outside and it was still dark.

Neither of talked, we just sat there, looking down at the table, catching our breaths.

I'm sure Camilla was actually in my dream, with me, or I was in hers.

I was trying to comprehend what had happened and if it would happen, if it would, it would be in the future? I didn't want to worry about it now, but it was bugging me a little.

This dream may come true sooner than I think.

'Why...?' Camilla trailed off in a whisper.

I knew exactly what she meant. Why did we have this dream? I had a different question, however. How were we in this dream together? What caused it?

I had a guess and I was probably right with my assumption.

My aura and Camilla's ESP, did they even deactivate yesterday?

'I'm not sure.' I replied.

'Did we connect?' Camilla asked.

'I'm not sure.' I echoed my previous answer.

'You think it's our powers?' She asked.

I nodded, but she probably couldn't see me.

'Mhmm.' I instead replied.

Camilla sighed in exasperation, I understood, I was too busy trying to get my head around it and she just wanted to forget it.

'Where were you?' She asked me.

'Looking at a small forest fire.' I replied

'Do you know where it was?' Camilla asked.

I shook my head.

'No.' I answered.

It was a place I had never seen before. I wondered if there was a reason as to why we were there, or if it was of any importance.

I remember Moltres saying to Camilla and I that we were important. I had no idea what Moltres was talking about. I wondered if he meant what this dream showed us. Moltres didn't give us much information, Moltres only said we were part of some prophecy, was this dream showing us a part of the prophecy? I had so many more questions than I needed right now. I wanted answers, but I knew I wouldn't get any answers until the future.

'I saw us run into the forest, we were older, but there was no doubt it was us.' Camilla said. 'We were followed by someone I don't know, and I'm pretty sure the other one was Brock.' Camilla said.

This was strange since Brock was with professor Ivy, and this other person I had no idea as to who it was, but we must have been friends in the future, she was running behind us alongside Brock.

It seemed as if it was in a different region to my home region, and this one. I recalled that Blue had told us about a region that neighboured Kanto, it was called Johto, but I didn't know much else about it. Maybe this is where our linked dream was.

The forest was not laid out, not like Viridian forest, so I knew that it wasn't in the Kanto region, and I hadn't come along a forest here in the Orange Island Archipelago just yet, so it must have been in a different region.

This forest kinda seemed a little bigger that Viridians, but I guessed that was because it was different and I knew Viridian forest so well.

'And when you entered this forest, you didn't know where to go.' I stated.

'I just followed you.' Camilla replied. You had no idea where we were going, but I followed you anyway.' She added.

Camilla was right, she always did that, even if I asked her not to she probably would.

She had followed me since Cerulean, she had been the friend who had stayed with me the longest. My childhood friend Rachel was now the fifth Chatelaine. Brock was staying with professor Ivy, and I had no idea how long he would continue staying with her. Liam was who knows where. Tracey had started to travel with me as soon as Brock departed from us. Leaf had been on this Orange Island journey with me from the beginning.

I looked outside and saw that the sun was just starting to rise from beyond the horizon. There was no way Camilla and I would be getting sleep anytime soon.

'I think we'll get our answers soon.' I told Camilla.

'Yeah, don't want to worry anyone with our dreams, they just get worse and we should deal with them when they come.' Camilla added, she knew exactly what I meant.

Nurse Joy come behind the counter and we saw her yawn and stretch her arms, she had obviously just woken up.

She looked at us as if to say did you forget to get dressed. I looked down and realized we were both still wearing our PJ's. Camilla and I went to change into our day clothes.

Once we entered the lobby we were still the only ones in the lobby, save for nurse Joy.

I looked out the window and saw that the sun was still rising and people would start getting up now.

As if on cue, both our Pikachu came out into the lobby, they both looked tired rubbing their eyes, talking inaudibly to each other.

They came to our table and jumped on our shoulders perching on their respected places.

'Hey buddy.' I greeted him.

'Pika.' He said greeting me back still a little sleepy.

I got up slowly to make sure Pikachu didn't fall off and went to the breakfast table.

Pikachu headed straight for a ketchup bottle, but before he had the chance I picked it up for him. I gestured to my shoulder and he jumped back on.

As soon as I returned with my breakfast there were a few more people in the lobby, some were sleepy while others were completely awake.

Many of them went straight to the breakfast table while others made their way to a table and tried to wake up.

Leaf was the next person to wake up, she brought out Camilla's Cubone, who was now playfully awake, it saw its mummy and that was enough to excite it.

Camilla took him off of Leaf and put him on the table, she played with him and fed him some of her breakfast.

'Hey guys.' Leaf greeted us as she sat down opposite us with her breakfast.

We both nodded.

Leaf kicked me.

I glared at her.

'What's up?' she mouthed.

'Later.' I replied.

'Now!' She demanded.

She and I started a staring contest.

'Aah.' A girls scream interrupted our staring contest.

Everyone in the lobby looked to the Pokemon centres doors and a girl was standing there with her back towards us.

Well everyone was awake now.

The girl had pink hair, and I guess you couldn't mistake her for anyone.

'Akari?' I asked.

Akari slowly turned toward us. I saw the horrified expression on her face, it flashed away as she recognized us.

She made her way toward us.

She sat next to Camilla.

'What set you off like that?' Leaf asked.

Many people ran out to see what Akari screamed about.

A few came back in clearly as scared as Akari was.

'Two Scyther were fighting.' Akari replied.

'Scyther?' Tracey asked.

Tracey was standing a few feet away

I didn't realize he was up.

'Yeah, I saw two Scyther fly straight past me, like a few inches from my face, it scared me more than most things did.' Akari told us.

We knew she was shy, but she could easily talk to us.

'That's fantastic!' Tracey exclaimed.

'Is it?' I asked.

Tracey sat down to explain the situation to us.

'Not only is this a great thing to sketch, but it means they are battling for a leader in their swarm. It happens when a new male wants to take over and their previous leader is no longer able to take care of their swarm. This happens many times in the Pokemon's life, it could be a stray male that wants to be the leader of a swarm, some can just take the swarm with no fight, but other times the leader fights back because it doesn't want to back down. This is a rare occasion because it doesn't happen so often that people are able to see.' Tracey explained.

'So this is a good thing?' Akari asked.

'I don't know if good is the right word, but it has to happen eventually.' Tracey replied.

'Well, I'm going to leave this island right now.' Akari said and with that she was off.

I understood, if I was in her situation I would probably leave too.

I decided to investigate.

'You coming buddy?' I asked Pikachu.

'Pika!' he replied, he was clearly pumped.

I was about to step out, but two green figures flew past me a few inches from my face. As soon as they passed I stepped out. I wasn't fazed because I had already heard about them, but I had never seen a Scyther before.

Scyther is a bipedal, insectoid creature. It is primarily light green with cream between its three body segments. On the back of its reptilian head are three points, it has narrow eyes. Its forearms have large, white scythes. On its thighs are spikes of fur, and it has three clawed toes on its large feet. Two pairs of cream coloured wings extend from its back.

I took out my Pokédex.

 _'Scyther, the mantis Pokemon._ _Scyther is blindingly fast. Its blazing speed enhances the effectiveness of the twin scythes on its forearms. This Pokémon's scythes are so effective, they can slice through thick logs in one wicked stroke.'_ My Pokédex said.

Tracey was busy sketching the scene happening before us. The Scyther were definitely having a fight over dominance.

I was wondering why they were fighting here, out of all places, why were they fighting outside a Pokemon centre?

'Look in the trees.' Leaf said.

I was too focused on the Scyther fighting, but I looked into the trees and saw that there were many other Scyther watching the fight, they were standing on the branches, that must be their swarm, that was probably why they were fighting here.

They needed an audience where their whole swarm could see, and in the trees it was too dense so they used an open space.

'Can't we stop them?' I asked taking a step forward.

'No!' Tracey stopped me grabbing my arm before I could walk any further.

Camilla and Leaf looked at him as I looked back to also face him.

'This battle will not stop, until one is defeated, unable to fight, or one forfeits, the loser will be banished from the swarm forever.' Tracey said. 'Although it is cruel, there is nothing we can do about it.' Tracey explained.

It was cruel, but we had to wait to see how this battle would work out.

The battle that these Scyther were involved in was intense, they each slashed at each other and sometimes they missed, but you could easily see who the stronger one was, even at this stage.

'There is still so much I don't know about Scyther.' Tracey said.

I looked at him in surprise.

Tracey not knowing about Scyther, he knew loads already and now he was saying that there were loads more to learn from Scyther.

It would be good if Tracey could catch a Scyther, he would be able to understand it better, but it didn't seem like these two would stop anytime soon, plus who knows if one of us would be able to catch it.

I saw there was a big difference between these two Scythers, one was definitely more experienced than the other, it seemed obvious as what to which one was going to emerge victorious.

It seemed like it was me from when I started my journey to where I was now.

One was rash and just went in all attacking with no thought, that was probably why I lost against Brock the first time. I didn't think about it I just went in with no plan at all.

The other was more experienced and made decisions based on the others actions, that was kind of like me now. But when I was battling I had to think on my feet, it was quite different to this battle of dominance.

The one with more experience was looking a little worn out, I didn't understand why, it wasn't the one that attacked non-stop, in fact it had hardly attacked at all, it was on the defence most of the time. It occasionally got an attack in, but it wasn't enough to startle the other Scyther or stop it's onslaught of attacks.

'Tracey any reason why the more experienced one is looking tired?' I asked.

Tracey looked on in interest, but he didn't give me an answer, maybe this was something he was unsure of.

The two Scyther then flew into the trees and soon they were going to be out of sight.

'we need to follow them.' I said.

'Jordan, we cant interrupt them.' Tracey reminded me.

'I know I replied. 'But what if one of the gets badly injured we cant just leave it.' I replied.

Tracey didn't answer me back. I didn't let him.

I ran into the woods and followed the Scyther to make sure that if one of them was defeated we could help nurse it back to health.

My friends were behind me, following closely. I could hear the lashing of scythes nearby, but I also heard the beating of wings, the Scyther were still watching the two dominant males battling each other for the leadership of the swarm.

I slowed to a walk and listened to see which way I would have to go to find the Scyther battling.

A buzz intercepted my walk and I ducked jut in time to miss two Scyther fighting on their way down.

That could have easily hit me and I would have been in the middle of a Scyther brawl, something I did not want right now.

A I stood back up I saw that the experienced Scyther was breathing heavier and looked a little battered, but he was doing great standing his ground. He was definitely a strong Scyther and I wouldn't be surprised if he came out on top, but on the other hand the other Scyther looked like it had been untouched, it looked fine, it wasn't out of breath and didn't look like it had a scratch on it, he was obviously the one who had the favour to win right now.

My friends and I followed the Scyther making sure we were always near them, we couldn't lose either of them, especially if this battle took an ugly turn.

The Scyther were very nimble, the way they were able to battle and dodge trees, it was quite incredible.

This battle going on was intense, the amount of times we heard scythes clanging against each other was surprising, the amount of parries that kept the experienced Scyther from wearing out so quickly, we definitely knew that eventually this battle would end and the outcome was becoming clearer and clearer with every passing second.

Even though the experienced Scyther was so much better, he was a little older and apparently wisdom did not bow down to strength, apparently the onslaught of attacks had pushed the experienced Scyther more than he could handle.

We saw that the experienced Scyther faltered for a fraction of a second, but that all the other Scyther needed.

He slashed downward and hit the Scyther on the head and it fell to the floor.

We saw it to struggle to get up.

I saw the determination that it held in its eyes, it did not want to back down, it wanted to keep fighting, but I knew that it was too much.

I raised its head up to the Scyther who was still flying before its head hit the floor for the final time.

The other Scyther called out and the other Scyther emerged from the trees behind us, they now had a new leader and this Scyther was an outcast.

We had to do something, we couldn't leave an injured Pokemon just lying here.

'Tracey?' I asked.

He hesitantly stepped toward the Scyther, if this Scyther was still able to move, it would probably put up a fight.

Tracey stayed silent creeping toward the Scyther, he made sure that he didn't make a sound, he took out a spare Pokeball and enlarged it.

I thought about the empty space I had on my belt for a Pokeball, it was weird for the space to be vacant, the first time that Pocket was vacant was before I got my Charmander, now it was Charizard, and it wasn't with me. That Scyther could be mine, then I would have a set to up against the Champion of the Orange league with, but it was okay for Tracey to have another Pokemon, he only had two and deserved a third.

Tracey touched the ball to Scyther, it didn't move and was sucked into the Pokeball.

The Pokeball didn't wiggle, it meant that Scyther was too exhausted to put up a fight. The Pokeball dinged almost instantly, signalling the capture.

Tracey picked up the Pokeball.

'Lets go back to the Pokemon centre.' Tracey said.

We all ran back to the Pokemon centre.

Tracey went straight up to the desk, while Camilla, Leaf and I went to sit at a table, the Pokemon centre was vacant, the Scyther battle talk had died down pretty quickly. Akari was also gone again.

'Tracey came down and sat next to Leaf.

'What do you want to do?' Leaf asked as soon as he sat down.

'I'm not sure.' Tracey said looking off into space.

I had no idea what to do. Tracey had caught a Pokemon that had just been defeated in battle by another Scyther.

'I just want to do what's best for Scyther.' Tracey continued.

'Would it be better to leave the island with Scyther?' Camilla asked.

'Not like this.' Tracey started 'When Scyther battle, the swarm either gets so far away that the previous leader will never be able to find them again, or they linger around, waiting for the previous leader to come back and challenge them again.' Tracey explained.

'And you think that's what Scyther wants?' I asked.

'It depends if the swarm leaves or stays.' Tracey stayed.

'They stayed.' Leaf interjected.

Tracey and Camilla shot their heads towards her.

'How do you know? I asked.

'Their leader knows we followed it, it knows we're helping, it wants to make sure that the Scyther that you caught stays away.' Leaf said.

I had to admire Leaf's observations, she was definitely a Pokemon trainer with loads of expertise.

'That Scyther, is not going to let it go.' Tracey started.

'Well we can't go back,' Camilla started. 'If we show up by ourselves there is no doubt that the rivalry that was between the Scyther will aid with his need to see to attack us as it knows we helped.'

This was a problem, it would be so much easier if we could just leave with Tracey Scyther, but because of the rivalry that was between them, we had to wait until the rivalry was sorted out.

I remember that I only had two Orange league badges, I still needed two more, the last time I had a battle felt like ages ago. I didn't know, but I felt selfish saying it out loud, we weren't just here for the Orange league, that wasn't the main reason we came to the Orange Islands, we came here for the reason of giving the GS ball to professor Ivy, Brock had stayed back to help with the cleaning and housework, it seemed like he missed it.

Leaf was here to gain as much information on all the Pokemon she could, she was crazy about Pokemon, she wanted to know everything about everyone. I knew what her main purpose was, she was glad she was travelling with me. I could see the excitement every time she could study a new Pokemon or learn more about a previous one she had seen. The real reason was to have an adventure while we waited for Liam, we didn't know where he was or what he was doing.

Camilla was here for the sense of adventure, that was the one thing she yearned for, I think she preferred all the experiences along the journey, especially when this region was something completely new. I knew she was originally travelling in Kanto for the Battle Château , but she lost at the last hurdle against Rachel, I was glad that there were no hard feelings between them, they were both friends as soon as Camilla had decided to travel with us back in Cerulean.

Tracey however was a Pokemon watcher, we met him here in the Orange Islands Archipelago. He just tagged along once he saw that I was a good trainer, but I didn't mind, he was on a proper adventure now instead of travelling aimlessly around the Orange Island Archipelago. I knew the main reason he travelled with us was the destination. He wanted to meet professor Oak in person and that was where we were going to be once I had finished and we had finished this journey.

This journey finished for me when I finished the league, whether I won or lost against the champion.

I had been worrying about having six Pokemon to battle the champion and I only had half the badges yet.

'We need to help the Scyther.' I said.

'That is both a good and bad idea.' Tracey said.

'Bad?' I asked.

'As Camilla said, the other Scyther knows that we are helping this Scyther it will make no hesitation to hurt us, so if this Scyther once again loses, then it will proceed to attack us.' Tracey told me.

'There's only one solution then.' I said. 'We make sure your Scyther doesn't lose.' I continued.

Suddenly there was a crash from the back of the Pokemon centre.

Nurse Joy rushed out the back.

She came back out and looked at us in shock.

Okay, this was bad, without even asking we knew what had happened and now we had a bigger problem.

Tracey's Scyther had gone rouge.

We ran out of the Pokemon centre and needed to find the Scyther before it found its swarm and the new leader, we couldn't let it get hurt, at least not as bad as it did when it was wild.

This was strange though, as it was almost never heard of that a caught Pokemon would reject its Pokeball and the trainer like it was still wild, but it was completely exhausted when Tracey caught it, so maybe it had struggled when it was awake again and broke out. That meant it was still wild and Tracey had never officially caught it at all.

'We need to find it before it gets injured any more.' Tracey said.

We all ran into the woods and made sure that we didn't run into the swarm of Scyther, I didn't fancy getting hurt by a swarm of Scyther just because we helped another Scyther.

We saw a Scyther on the ground, it was standing up, but was struggling to walk, its feet were being dragged across the floor, like it feet had lost their muscles.

Tracey ran up to the Scyther.

The Scyther looked up at Tracey, but no emotion flashed across its face.

'Scyther?' Tracey asked.

It didn't even acknowledge Tracey's presence, instead it kept dragging its feet across the ground.

'Scyther stop!' Tracey called with force.

I had never heard Tracey sound that definitive before, he was determined to make this Scyther listen.

Scyther stopped and turned around to face Tracey.

'Let us help you.' Tracey continued.

The Scyther looked sceptical, but it didn't argue, it sat on the ground.

Tracey brought out a pink spray bottle.

Tracey looked at the scrapes on the Scyther, and started to spray the wounds, they slowly closed up.

Scyther started to look better.

I was glad that this Scyther now trusted us, but to be fair I guessed that we couldn't do much worse than what the other Scyther did to this Scyther.

Scyther looked up at Tracey as soon as he finished tending to the Scyther.

It had a look of surprise on its face as if it was confused as to why we would help it.

'That better?' Tracey asked.

Scyther nodded.

Scyther stood up and pointed into the woods.

Tracey took of in that direction, Scyther flew beside him.

Camilla, Leaf and I followed closely behind.

Tracey slowed down as did the Scyther.

Scyther landed next to Tracey.

'We need to be cautious around here, I told you the Scyther wouldn't go far.' Tracey told us.

We all walked slowly forward until the Scyther pointed up in one of the tree's. That must be where the rival Scyther was.

The rival Scyther came down in front of the Scyther that Tracey caught.

The rival Scyther made no hesitation and lifted its scythe above Tracey, Tracey cowered, we all rushed forward, but before the scythe made a connection with Tracey we heard a clang.

Tracey opened its eyes, the Scyther that Tracey caught had its two scythes above its head in an "X" fashion to block the opposing Scythers attack.

Maybe this Scyther was still Tracey's, or maybe it was protecting Tracey because Tracey nursed it back to health.

Scyther grunted and nodded to Tracey.

'Scyther, use Razor wind.'

Scyther rapidly flapped it wings and the opposing Scyther lost its balance and backed away. Scyther then moved its scythes at ninja like speed and created a wind that pushed the other Scyther back further.

The rival Scyther got up and looked angrier than it did before, it charged toward the Scyther.

'Use agility.' Tracey called.

Scyther dashed around so quick that I could hardly see it move, it looked faster than my Pikachu, but then again not as fast as my Dragonite using extreme speed.

The rival Scyther had trouble keeping up with the other Scyther.

'Fury attack.' Tracey called out.

Scyther struck toward the rival Scyther and slashed down with one of its scythes before dashing back, it repeated this five times, every time the rival Scyther got hit with this attack it looked surprised that it had got hit.

After the fifth time it got attacked the rival Scyther looked battered up quite a bit, it was all offensive and didn't use strategy or moves, instead it just attacked all out with its scythes.

'Finish this with an X-scissor.' Tracey said.

Scyther crossed its blades in an "X" like fashion and they stated to glow green before a green shaped "X" was thrown straight to the rival Scyther who was too slow to protect itself. The attack connected and the rival Scyther was thrown into a tree.

The connection made an explosion.

Scyther went over to the tree and looked over the rival Scyther.

The rival Scyther looked scared for a second before the other Scyther held out its scythe for the rival Scyther to take.

Scyther helped the rival Scyther up and they had a small talk before the rival Scyther called out the other Scyther in the swarm, the rest of the swarm came to its arms.

The rival Scyther flew up to the front of the swarms formation before giving a nod and flying away with the swarm in trail of it.

All of us were confused.

'Um..Tracey?' I asked. 'Why did the swarm fly off with the Scyther that lost?' I asked.

'I'm not sure, Jordan.' Tracey replied.

'Its not normally how a Scyther acts, maybe we can ask that Scyther.' Leaf suggested.

Before we could approach the Scyther it flew away.

Tracey looked shocked and a little hurt.

It seemed like he really wanted a Scyther, but I guess Pokemon could choose against going with a trainer especially if they had broken out of the Pokeball.

It was something that was rarely heard of, but I guess that's how it was.

We made our way back to the Pokemon centre.

Before we could enter a Scyther dropped down in front of Tracey.

The Scyther had a Pokeball on one of its scythes.

Tracey took the Pokeball.

The Scyther closed its eyes and leaned its head forward.

Tracey touched the Pokeball on the Scyther, the Scyther was sucked in.

The Pokeball gave one wiggle before a ding signalled the capture. This was the second time that Tracey had caught a Scyther today.

'Well done, Tracey.' Leaf congratulated him.

All of made our way into the Pokemon centre.

Tracey went up to the counter to rest his newly captured Pokemon.

My friends and I sat down at a table and waited for Tracey to come and sit down.

'So where are we off to next?' Camilla asked.

'I think we should head to Jordan's next Orange league challenge, he hasn't had one in a while.' Leaf said.

I was thankful for Leaf, but my friends didn't need to. I didn't mind, sure it was a while ago I had had an Orange league challenge, but I wasn't in any rush, I needed a sixth Pokemon before I battled the champion.

'Could we stop on Mandarin before we go to Trovita?' Tracey asked. 'It's on the way and there is a beach there where hundreds of trainers go to show off their battling skills and, we can also relax on the beach I think our Pokemon and us need a break from all this travelling, its the perfect place.' Tracey said.

'I think its a great idea.' I said.

Not only was it a place to relax, but I had not had a proper battle in a while. I missed that battling style and I wanted a taste of it again.

 **Hey all, I am sorry this is really late, but I have the perfect excuse.**

 **I have just finished welcoming my 7 week old son into the world, so that's why this has been 2-3 months late, and I have been extremely busy the whole time.**

 **I will still be updating this, but I don't know when the next chapter will be up.**

 **Anyway, hope you like this chapter I'll see you at the next one.**

 **Chapter sixteen: Ice on Mandarin**


	16. Ice on Mandarin

**Disclaimer: Pokémon is not owned by myself…at least I don't think it is.**

16\. Ice on Mandarin

My friends and I hopped off Blastoise and landed on a beach, which looked packed.

There were people and Pokémon almost everywhere.

I returned Blastoise while my friends tried to find a way through without disturbing anyone, I didn't know a beach would be this packed, I wondered how many people came here to relax, we weren't the only ones.

I followed my friends through the crowd.

I looked up to see the city beyond the beach, it was a fair walk away. The beach was massive, not just the length, but also the width.

The buildings in the city beyond the beach were tall, like hotels, which they probably were, this didn't seem like the place that people would regularly live, it seemed like this was the place that people would come to take a holiday.

We managed to manoeuvre through the crowd of people and Pokémon.

We reached the end of the beach and there was a large cobblestone wall, it had stairs that reached the beachfront.

The city was as bad as the beach, it was packed with people. I wondered what the population of Mandarin island was today. I wondered if it was like this every day.

I also realized that there was no-one here younger than Camilla, Leaf and I. There were adults and teenagers roaming the streets.

My friends and I now had to navigate our way through this crowd to find the Pokémon centre, I hoped the chance of that being empty was more than that of the streets and beach being empty.

Normally it was easy for us to find a Pokémon centre quickly. We had never known where the Pokémon centre was before we entered the town or city, we generally found it by roaming around. I didn't know if this island would be different, since the island was packed it might be hard to find the Pokémon centre.

It took us a few minutes to find the Pokémon centre, but we had less luck inside as it was extremely busy, this Pokémon centre had tables on both sides of the Pokémon centre, but every single one of the tables were full and there were a few people standing up, leaning against the walls.

The only place that was free was the counter where nurse Joy was standing behind.

'Hello, how may I help you?' she asked.

'Can you take our Pokémon please?' Tracey asked taking out his three Pokeballs, we all followed suite. Chansey put six trays on the counter, both our Pikachu went on a tray and Chansey took all the trays behind.

'So, Jordan, where will we go so you can have battles?' Leaf asked.

This was a question I didn't have answer for. The beach was packed so that was ruled out, the streets were packed to that was ruled out. Tracey said that half the island was a forest, so it was habitable for wild Pokémon and trainers Pokémon.

'I didn't mean to intrude in your conversation, but I know a place to battle.' A familiar voice said to my left.

I looked and saw a familiar face.

'Lorelei?' I exclaimed.

She was wearing the clothes I saw her wearing when we battled, she was also sitting down at a table.

'Hello, Jordan.' Lorelei greeted me.

'You remember my name?' I asked.

'You made a massive impact in the Kanto region, almost, if not everyone, knows your name.' Lorelei said. It was only last year that you battle in the Pokémon league.

I winced at the memory.

'I see you have not recovered from the incident.' Lorelei observed

I shook my head.

'You are the first person to have ever caught and raised an Aerodactyl.' Lorelei told me. 'You should be proud, no-one else is as qualified to train this Pokémon than you.' Lorelei said.

'But Lance has Aerodactyl now.' I replied.

'If you asked Lance, I'm sure he would have let you keep Aerodactyl.' Lorelei told me. 'Plus, Lance is the Kanto League Champion.'

'But I couldn't control it.' I replied.

'Jordan, I think you are being too hard on yourself, every Pokémon before Aerodactyl you have been able to control perfectly and because of this you expected too much, not every Pokémon is the same, you just had luck with all your Pokémon reacting the same to you.' Camilla told me.

Camilla was right, Aerodactyl had been in a sleeping state for thousands or millions of years, so maybe that was the reason its primal instincts took over. I wasn't a bad trainer, it's just that Aerodactyl was a little tougher to connect with than my other Pokémon.

'Jordan, I heard you beat two Gyms and I saw you battle in the Pokémon league with Aerodactyl, if anyone could tame that Pokémon it would be you.' Leaf added.

Leaf was right I had tackled two Gyms, disbanded team Rocket and beat a member of the Pokémon league before destruction was caused.

'Now, Jordan, I have not seen or heard of Aerodactyl before, but I have seen the way you handle your Pokémon, if anyone could handle this so called "destructive" Pokémon, I know you could.' Tracey told me.

I was glad my friends were standing up for me, they really were the best.

'Thanks guys.'

'I don't believe I have properly met your friends.' Lorelei said.

'Oh right!' I exclaimed, I completely forgot about introducing Lorelei to them.

I blushed in guilt,

'This is Camilla, she has been travelling with me since Cerulean city.' I said.

'I remember her, she was one of the fans cheering you on in the stands, you did glance to your friends a couple of times, but you still kept your focus.' Lorelei told me.

Lorelei held out her hand to Camilla.

Camilla took it.

'Nice to officially meet you.' Lorelei said.

Lorelei then patted Cubone on the head.

'This is Leaf, she started travelling with me a soon as I started on the Orange Islands, she was previously travelling with…um…Liam.' I said the last word as a whisper, but Leaf still looked down.

Lorelei lifted Leaf's head.

'He was a strong trainer, he'll come back, he was just a little rash and looked towards you too much.' Lorelei said.

'It's my fault Liam lost!' Leaf exclaimed.

'No, no, no, it's not, I didn't mean it like that.' Lorelei started. 'I meant he was too distracted and that was because of how rash he was, as soon as he lost his first three Pokémon he started to panic. That was what caused him to lose focus and that is what resulted in his defeat.' Lorelei explained.

'This is Tracey, we met him on Tangelo island and he's been tagging along ever since.' I said.

Lorelei shook Tracey's hand.

'Please to make your acquaintance.' Tracey said as he bowed while still holding Lorelei's hand.

'The pleasure is all mine.' Lorelei replied.

I remembered that Lorelei said that she knew a place to battle.

'Lorelei,' I started. 'You know a place we can battle?' I asked.

The ding signalled to say our Pokémon were fully restored.

I took my four Pokeballs and strapped them to my belt. Pikachu jumped on my shoulder.

'How you feeling bud?' I asked him.

'Pika!' he exclaimed in determination, while his cheeks crackled with electricity.

'So, where is it that the battle should be taking place?' Leaf asked.

'Oh yes!' She exclaimed. 'Follow me.' She said as she started to get up.

My friends and I followed Lorelei outside. We went around the right side the Pokémon centre which was our left.

Once we made it to the other side of the Pokémon centre, I saw a battlefield. I can't remember the last time I saw a Pokémon battlefield.

Lorelei stepped on one side of the battlefield.

'You ready, Jordan?' She asked.

'What?' I exclaimed. 'You want to battle me?' I asked.

Lorelei shook her head, I swear I heard her chuckle under her breath.

'I want to battle a strong trainer.' She replied. 'And you beat me last time.' Lorelei reminded me.

'Narrowly.' I retorted.

'Come on, this time you'll have a proper challenge.' Lorelei encouraged me.

Proper challenge I thought. As if battling her in the Pokémon league wasn't challenging enough.

I stood on the opposite side of the battlefield to Lorelei.

'I'm sure one of your friends could referee this battle.' Lorelei suggested.

I saw Leaf volunteer as a referee, I expected just as much.

'How about a two on two battle, Jordan?' Lorelei asked. 'I'm pretty sure you don't have that much experience in that area.' Lorelei guessed.

I didn't know how she knew, but I remember the first time I had a double battle, it was against the Chatelaine sister, Evelyn. She picked me randomly in Lavender town and we had a double battle in front of many, many people who participated in the Battle Château. I had unfortunately lost, but I do remember a few things from the mistakes I made. Last time I had a double battle I made a terrible mistake by using a type disadvantage, I didn't count on the type advantage attacking the Pokémon that it was strong against, plus I thought my Charmeleon was strong enough. I was wrong in my calculations, especially when the battle was short. Evelyn's Vaporeon took almost no time to take out Charmeleon.

'This will be an unofficial battle between Jordan Hale of Pallet town and Lorelei of the Pokémon league, it will be a two on two battle, the battle will end when one trainer has no more Pokémon to battle.' Leaf said.

So, Lorelei and I would only be using two Pokémon each for this battle. I just hoped this battle would be longer than my first double battle. I didn't mind losing, of course I would love to win, but I didn't mind, plus it would help me learn more if I lost.

'Cloyster, Lapras, you're up.' Lorelei called out.

I knew one Pokémon I would use, it seemed so did he as he jumped on the battlefield before I could say anything. I was debating on who else I would use. I had a Pokémon that had not battled before, I wondered if he'd like to battle.

'Snorlax, I choose you.' I called out.

Snorlax appeared, he stood up, but as soon as he appeared, he fell on the floor and seemed to be asleep. I couldn't have this not now.

Pikachu made a futile attempt to wake up Snorlax.

What was I going to do with a sleeping Pokémon, they couldn't use moves, not as far as I could remember.

Lorelei didn't waste any time, she would destroy my Pokémon before Snorlax could wake up and help. If it over woke up at all.

'Lapras, surf. Cloyster, Ice beam.'

'Pikachu dodge and use thunderbolt.' I retaliated.

There was no point in saying anything to a sleeping Pokémon, I just hoped that Snorlax would wake up before it fainted. So, I could at least use it in a battle.

Lapras surf engulfed Snorlax, but it did not move.

Cloysters ice beam was instead headed for Pikachu who easily dodged it.

Pikachu released a thunderbolt that was headed straight for Lapras.

That was my plan, if I could get rid of Lapras first, I might have a good chance of beating Lorelei, plus Lapras would be easier to get rid of as its primary type was water, not ice, whereas Cloysters was the other way around.

Lapras looked hurt once Pikachu's attack stopped, but no doubt it was still going to put up a good fight.

I was happy that I was getting back to proper battles, sure it wasn't as I expected like the one on one, I had grown accustomed to, but it was proper battling and I needed experience in this area if I was ever going to become a good Pokémon trainer and perfect what I had already learned.

'Cloyster, use avalanche.' Lorelei called.

I had never seen avalanche, but it didn't sound too good. I was too busy trying to figure out what to do that I had no time to say anything.

A huge heap of snow came upon both Pikachu and Snorlax, both my Pokémon were buried under the attack and now I had no way of knowing how they were or if they were going to come out.

I also remembered something that Leaf had told me just over a year back, that Pokémon could have the status condition of frozen, I hope this was not the case for any of my Pokémon.

I saw that around Lorelei and I we had attracted quite the crowd. I mean she was a member of the Pokémon league, it made sense, they weren't here because of me, were they? I hadn't made too much of an impact on the Orange Islands.

Lorelei was about to issue another attack, but from under the snow was a wriggle and soon enough Snorlax emerged completely awake with a shivering Pikachu on its head.

Now this battle would get interesting.

'Pikachu use thunderbolt. Snorlax body slam.'

Pikachu jumped off of Snorlax and released a thunderbolt before Lorelei could say anything. Lapras was hit by the attack and cried in pain.

The cry reminded me of the Lapras we saved, sure this Pokémon was not wild, but it was still hard to hear the cry of a Lapras and do nothing about it, especially when we took care of one before.

Snorlax ran toward Cloyster, and before Lorelei came out of the shock of Lapras being shocked for the second time, Snorlax jumped on Cloyster. Cloyster was almost instantly lost underneath Snorlax.

Snorlax slowly got up and Cloyster looked dizzy, but I knew body slam wouldn't confuse a Pokémon.

I could not let Lorelei have the advantage, so I took my chance with a close range with Cloyster.

'Snorlax, use hyper beam.'

Snorlax opened its mouth and began charging up a hyper beam.

'Cloyster, use Ice beam.' Lorelei called in a rush.

Cloyster was about to shoot out an Ice beam, but it was too late as Snorlax launched a hyper beam at Cloyster who flew behind Lorelei and out of the battlefield.

Lorelei looked at me, she knew I had the potential, and she also knew that her Cloyster had fainted, but she smiled, knowing something I didn't.

'Lapras, sheer cold.' She said calmly.

Oops, maybe I shouldn't have used hyper beam, now I was going to pay for that.

I prayed that sheer cold would miss, as KO moves have a low chance of hitting, but I felt the cold breeze as Lapras came up with the move.

A huge gust of Icy wind came this way, it got stronger and colder before any of us could do anything and my Pokémon slowly had their health drained away before both fainted.

Lorelei returned her Cloyster.

I returned Snorlax and, as soon as sheer cold had subsided I went to collect Pikachu.

The crowd around us slowly dispersed. I heard some of them grumble in disappointment, as if the battle ended too quickly.

Lorelei came to greet me in the middle as my friends came to join me.

'Well, Jordan, that was a fun battle, especially since you made easy work of my Cloyster, but your downfall was your power, if you use too much too soon, your opponent will battle back harder, especially when you have a two on two challenge, the Pokémon you haven't fainted will have a way to make you regret your decision.' Lorelei explained to me.

I would take that into my next double battle because I needed to grow more as a trainer. I had lost my first two double battles, so I should be more prepared if any more came up.

My friends, Lorelei and I went into the Pokémon centre.

Lorelei and I made our way to the counter.

'Hello, how may I help you?' Nurse Joy asked.

'Can you take my Pokémon please?' I asked.

I placed Pikachu on a tray and Snorlax's Pokeball on a separate tray. Lorelei had two Pokeballs with a small icy stripe on top of it, it was unique to her type speciality.

My friends had found a table now to sit on, the Pokémon centre was not as crowded as earlier.

'Thanks for the battle Lorelei.' I said.

'Thank you, Jordan Hale, good luck in your journey, we may see each other again.' She said.

I made my way to the table and sat next to Camilla.

Lorelei stayed standing at the counter. I was surprised people hadn't bombarded her, she was a member of Kanto's Pokémon league, shouldn't she get some attention? Sure, this regions Pokémon league consisted of only one Pokémon trainer, that was the champion. Maybe the other regions members of the Pokémon league weren't as big as a deal here.

Maybe that was why Lorelei liked it here, she was just treated as any other regular Pokémon trainer. I understood, if I was as strong and as regarded as she was to the region of Kanto, I would want a place that people didn't know me as well. I was known a lot around my own region and not as many people here knew me, so I guess Lorelei's and my own situation was quite similar.

'How was that?' Camilla asked me.

'Huh?' I asked. I was lost in my own world. I had just realized that Camilla had asked me a question.

Leaf shook her head.

'Camilla was asking how the battle was, you haven't had a proper one since Kanto, how is it having a proper battle?' Leaf asked.

'Oh, right.' I started. 'It's not how I remember them, but that was probably because it was a double battle and not a single.' I replied.

'That makes sense.' Tracey started. 'All battle formats seem different to the ones you're used to, but with practice you will get better, Jordan. I bet by the next one you will be a bit better, double battles sometimes consist of more than two Pokémon, a trainer can have six Pokémon battling, for example once one of their Pokémon has fainted they switch it out with another in their party.' Tracey explained.

I didn't know that more than two Pokémon could be used in a double battle, maybe that made it harder, I prayed I didn't have a battle like that for a while. A double battle was complicated as it was already, I didn't need anything else on top of what I was already learning.

'And now you've had two double battles.' Camilla said.

'And they've both been short.' I replied.

'True, but the first was short because you had no idea what a double battle was, the second was short because Lorelei used a Knockout move.' Camilla told me.

Camilla was right. I had misjudged both battles.

The first one with Evelyn was my first time I was inexperienced, and Evelyn specialised in double battles. My battle with Lorelei only ended because her knockout move actually hit. I remembered my dad said that it was rare for knockout moves to hit. It was cut short because I was unlucky. I may have won if sheer cold had missed.

'I'm sure you'll win the next one.' Leaf encouraged.

'You now have some experience, that should make it easier for you.' Tracey added.

I was glad my friends were here, who knows where I would be right now if I didn't have them. I'd be either dead, or at home, being scolded at by my mother.

'Well, Jordan. We have the rest of the day to kill.' Camilla started. 'Why don't we get you a single battle on the beach?' Camilla suggested.

This is just what I needed.

This was the type of battle I had been yearning for since I had my last proper battle, I remember, it was just before we met Tracey, but he had seen the whole battle I had.

My friends and I made our way to the beach to find a battle for me.

Blastoise hadn't had a proper battle since we had arrived in the Orange Islands, but he helped me win my first badge here, and he had helped us travel between a few islands. Charizard was at Charicific valley, but he had helped me with my second badge. Dragonite had helped with capturing Snorlax, other than that he hadn't had a battle since the elite four in Kanto. Sandslash had helped me with my second badge, but he was like Dragonite, he hadn't battled since the elite four. Pikachu was the only one who had a proper battle since Kanto, he was the Pokémon that taught three trainers a lesson, they were mean to Pikachu, so Pikachu showed them that it wasn't stupid or weak, which was the two words they used to describe him.

Snorlax recently had a battle with Pikachu, I probably wouldn't use them in my next battle, but only because I had recently used them. I then had my other three. Sandslash is the only one who hadn't battled at all, he had only helped me craft a toboggan.

It would all depend on who I was going to battle.

We all split up to find a trainer who was willing to battle, it was hard as most people were either relaxing or playing on the beach, no-one was really willing to battle.

I was getting so desperate that I asked people who were relaxing or interrupted a game to ask, most of the people I interrupted or disturbed were annoyed that I interrupted them, but I didn't let their attitude faze me from seeking out a battle.

My friends and I met up a few minutes after my last interruption.

'I couldn't find anyone who was willing.' Tracey said as we met up.

'Me either.' Camilla added out of breath.

'Leaf?' I asked.

She just shook her head, she looked a little nervous, but I didn't want to press her, if she wanted to know or ask me something, I'm sure she would ask me.

'What now?' I asked.

'We could go back to the Pokémon centre and ask people there.' Tracey replied.

Camilla was still out of breath, and Leaf still looked nervous, so I guess most of my answers were going to come from Tracey for the time being.

We all slowly made our way to the Pokémon centre.

Once we walked in we saw that the Pokémon centre was now almost bare, nothing like it was this morning. Earlier it was packed and now there were only a few people in here.

I looked around to see if I could see Lorelei, but it seemed she had disappeared. Maybe she had more important matters to tend to at the Pokémon league, or maybe she wanted to go and relax on the beach.

'Jordan?' Leaf asked as soon as we entered.

I turned around and saw Leaf looking down nervously.

'Yes?' I asked.

'I was wondering…I…I wanted to know, if…I could have…can I battle with…you?' Leaf asked. She asked stammering.

I was surprised at first, Leaf wanted to battle me? It was great, but I didn't know Leaf was the battling type. We all knew she wasn't, maybe she was just trying to give me a proper battle to make me feel better as I had not had one for ages

I was glad that Leaf asked for a battle, but confused as to why she was so nervous.

'Leaf, I would love to battle against you.' I said. 'You don't need to be nervous about asking me.' I added.

This would be an interesting battle. I had never battled Leaf before and I had never seen her battle before, so it would be good to find out what kind of trainer she was. I didn't know who she would use against me, but I already had the Pokémon I was going to use, he hadn't had a battle in a while, he deserved a battle like this.

I also knew that Pikachu wouldn't battle against Leaf because we had travelled together, and he wouldn't battle against a friends Pokémon.

Leaf and I made our way to the battlefield where Lorelei and I had our double battle earlier.

'I'll referee.' Tracey offered.

Leaf took off her Pokeball belt and bag and placed them where Tracey would stand, she picked up one Pokeball and made her way to one of the trainer boxes.

She knew exactly who she was going to use against me.

I placed my bag next to Tracey and stood in the other box, but I kept my Pokeball belt on.

'This will be an unofficial battle between Jordan Hale of Pallet Town and Leaf Green of Lavender Town, each trainer will have the use of one Pokémon, the trainer who faints the other trainers Pokémon first with emerge as the victor, begin.' Tracey announced.

Our only spectator was Camilla.

'Sandslash, I choose you.' I called out.

Sandslash landed out on the battlefield, looking ready to battle.

'Rapidash, you're up.' Leaf called.

This was a good thing for Leaf, and a bad thing.

I had battled a Rapidash once before, against Blaine on Cinnabar island.

His Rapidash was tremendously fast and I had almost lost against it, it was extremely fast I had trouble keeping up with it.

My Sandslash had won against it though, once it had learnt earthquake.

I wasn't quite sure how this battle would turn out, it was against Leaf and she was using a pretty fast Pokémon. I just hoped she was able to keep up with me.

'Extreme speed.' Leaf called.

I had no time to react, as soon as I blinked Sandslash was standing directly in front of me, but still facing away.

'Use mud shot.' I called.

Sandslash began to throw shots of mud at Rapidash.

'Dodge.' Leaf countered.

Rapidash ran around the field easily dodging the mud shot.

I had expected as much. I knew Rapidash was fast, but I didn't know how much Leaf had trained her Rapidash.

'Flame wheel.' Leaf called.

Rapidash enveloped itself in a ball of fire and came charging toward Sandslash.

I waited till the last second before issuing an attack.

'Jump and use dig.'

Sandslash jumped, just as Rapidash was about to hit it. Rapidash missed and went past Sandslash. Sandslash landed on the other side of Rapidash and simultaneously dug a hole.

Rapidash went back toward Leaf which was a bad idea, it should have stayed where it was, it was easier to get Rapidash when it was out in the open.

'Watch out for Sandslash, Rapidash.' Leaf told Rapidash.

'Use dig.' I said.

'Agility, Rapidash.' Leaf called.

Before Sandslash came out under Rapidash, Rapidash darted across the field, using agility.

That was a good tactic on Leaf's behalf, she was definitely proving that she was a good trainer and she was at a type disadvantage.

'Extreme speed.' Leaf called before I could react.

Sandslash was once again hit and had moved positions again. I had to either find a way to slow Rapidash down or make Sandslash incredibly fast or use a move that Rapidash would not be able to evade.

I knew that magnitude was a move that Rapidash could easily evade, as Blaine's Rapidash had evaded my magnitude. Also, magnitude was never certain the frequency at the amount of power it had was always varied, it could be weak one and that would not harm Rapidash much. I did have another two moves, one would be too slow to hit Rapidash, even if it wasn't unbelievably quick. The other one I had had helped me beat Blaine's Rapidash, but I don't know if it was easy to evade that, maybe Blaine was just unlucky.

I had to try.

'Sandslash, use earthquake.'

Sandslash jumped.

'Extreme speed.' Leaf called.

Before Sandslash could land it was now somewhere else on the field.

Leaf had stopped my move before Sandslash was able to use it.

She was definitely a strategic trainer. I didn't know she was this good at battling. I had to up my game if I had a chance of beating her. I had clearly underestimated the way Leaf thinks, this was a disadvantage of travelling with friends, they watch you battle, so they know how you think and if they want to battle you, it will be easier for them to predict your moves.

Now I had to come up with something that Leaf hadn't seen before, but I can't seem to remember the last time I had a one on one battle where I won with Sandslash. If I did it was so long ago, it was probably when Sandslash was a Sandshrew.

I had come up with something, but I just had to see if it worked.

'Sandslash, use dig.'

Sandslash instantly burrowed underground.

I would not have Leaf win this battle. I had to show her that I was strong, sure she had put up a fight, a very good one, but I was confident I could come out on top.

'Don't let it find you, Rapidash, use agility.' Leaf called.

Rapidash raced across the battle field.

'Sandslash, dig…' I started. As soon as Sandslash appeared I called out my next move. '…earthquake.' I called.

Leaf's eyes widened in shock.

Rapidash was still using agility running around the field, Leaf would have to wait for Rapidash to finish before ordering another move.

Sandslash held its claws up high before smashing them on the ground.

The earth shook violently. I almost lost my balance, Leaf lost hers, as did Tracey, Camilla almost fell over, but she and I had been in many situations where my Sandslash had used magnitude and earthquake, so we had grown accustomed to the shaking.

Rapidash fell and the shaking slowly subsided, but Rapidash did not get back up.

Tracey got up shakily.

'Rapidash has fainted, that means Sandslash is the winner and the victory goes to Jordan Hale.' Tracey announced.

I returned Sandslash and walked to Leaf who was still on the floor, she was on her knees.

I held out a hand to her.

'That was a good battle Leaf.' I said, helping her to her feet.

'But I lost.' She replied.

'Leaf, if you don't lose, you can't learn, plus that battle was tough for me too. I was running out of ideas, you certainly kept me on my toes.' I told her.

She returned her Rapidash and praised it.

'Really?' she asked as we went to collect our bags.

'Definitely.' I replied. 'You kept using an unavoidable move, how was I supposed to counter that?' I asked rhetorically.

I slung my bag over my shoulder as we made our way to the Pokémon centre to rest our Pokémon.

Once we entered the Pokémon centre and gave our injured Pokémon to nurse Joy we sat at a table.

'Well done Leaf.' Camilla praised.

'I lost, why are you congratulating me?' Leaf asked.

This is what my friends and I did if we ever lost a battle.

'Leaf, you lost against, Jordan. Jordan, the guy who thwarted Team Rocket, the guy who died and came back to life to save around twenty Pokémon trainers, the guy who beat all eight Gym leaders in Kanto, the guy who stopped Snorlax from destroying all seven grapefruit isles, and the guy who has won two out of the four Orange island badges.' Camilla said.

'From doing all of that, I'd say you did pretty well against Jordan, there was a moment where Camilla and I thought you would win.' Tracey added.

'So did I.' I chirped in.

'Thanks guys, but I don't feel like being cheery right now.' She said.

The ding signalled, and she went to our room.

We were definitely staying here the night, tomorrow we would go to get my third badge, then I would have one more before I could face the Champion.

 **Hey all, don't know how long it took to get this out since the last one, but if I had any excuse it would be WB, anyway here is the next one, hope you enjoy it. I am aiming to get the next one out before Christmas, wish me luck.**

 **Chapter seventeen: Trovita Three**


	17. Trovita Three

**Disclaimer: Pokémon…hmm, something I do not own.**

Trovita Three

 _I sat up slowly with a pain in my left leg and a ringing in my ears._

 _Bits of rubble kept falling all around me, thankfully, none hit me, but they still bounced erratically around me._

 _I looked around and saw that my friends were starting to stir from the fall._

 _Pikachu was laying a few feet away, he was still unconscious. I tried to use my, but it didn't work. I would have moved, but the pain in my leg coursed through causing me to wince in exceedingly uncomfortable pain._

 _I was refined to dragging myself across the floor instead of attempting to stand up._

 _I looked toward my leg to assess the damage to it and I found out why I was restrained and why I was unable to move._

 _There was a huge sort of aircraft that had my leg caught between it and the ground._

 _The aircraft looked like it had crashed and embedded its way into the earth's surface._

 _I looked over to my friends and a few feet away was a set of stairs that led up quite a way to a place I couldn't see._

 _There was a fog that didn't look as fog normally did, it didn't shield me from my friends, but shielded me past them._

 _I couldn't see much of the aircraft, but the fog bank shielded most of it, but I could tell it was large._

 _My friends started to slowly sit up, one by one._

 _All of them looked at me and their eyes widened in shock, they all scrambled to reach me._

 _My uncle came running toward me, emerging from the fog behind my friends, he was wearing his Sinnoh clothes. He took his hat off and proceeded to helping me trying to figure a way to move the pressure from my leg._

 _My friends all talked to me, bombarding me with questions that I couldn't understand or have an answer to._

" _The chosen ones downfall will be the price." This was probably what the line meant. I had now been immobilized by a large flying vehicle, but since I was immobilized the island, no the world was saved. I had to have a catastrophe happen to me, so the world would be saved, but I didn't understand some of the lines they felt incomplete, such as;_ _for the only one to tame the beast of the sea. This line was incomplete and couldn't be complete if I was immobilized._

 _I didn't understand this, every other line from the prophecy had been completed, why was this one unable to be completed? Or was it a coincidence? Was it a coincidence that every other line was as it was said? Was it that the prophecy was just mumbo jumbo? I had fallen to the trap of speculative natives._

 _A huge creak sounded from the flying vessel and I knew this was the real consequence of saving the world, I was going to die for the second time, but this time I wouldn't be coming back._

I woke up with Camilla looking at me.

'Good morning Jordan.' She said a little chirpy.

'Is it?' I asked rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

She giggled before making her way out to the lobby of the Pokémon centre.

I wondered what she was so happy about, Camilla was never this happy.

I was the last one in bed, this was not a normal occurrence, normally I was the first one up, today I was the last one up. I remembered what was happening today, today we were going to get my third Orange Islands badge.

My Pikachu was already up as my bed was vacant, save for me.

I got dressed and made my way out to the lobby, I got some breakfast before making my way to my friends table.

Leaf looked almost as happy as Camilla, that was different from yesterday, he mood had changed round drastically, she looked depressed from her loss yesterday, now she looked like she was floating.

Camilla looked like she was on cloud nine. I looked her way, she flushed red.

I did not understand girls, it was really weird to me. I brushed it aside. Tracey was looking through a brochure.

'Tracey?' I asked.

He looked up at me from his brochure.

'Why are the girls so happy this morning?' I asked.

'They've been like that since I woke up, they were both in here before me. I chose to ignore it, when I asked, they refused to tell me.' Tracey replied.

I ate my breakfast in silence while Tracey kept reading his brochure and the girls talked animatedly, but I paid no mind to their conversation.

If the girls wanted to tell me about it then they would.

I finished my breakfast a few minutes later.

I was ready to hit the road, or in the proper sense the sea. I was eager to win my third badge, I would be one step closer to completing my dream.

'So, Jordan, are you ready for your third badge?' Tracey asked as he put the brochure in his bag.

I was definitely ready now, but I didn't know how I would feel closer to the time. I normally had some self-doubt right before I took on a Gym, sure these Gyms were different, but they still helped me reach my goal. I was probably going to try and back down at the last minute and my friends would tell me how they believed in me and all that and I would then be able to take on the Gym, it always happened when I felt any self-doubt.

'You bet I am.' I replied standing up, that sounded really confident, a lot more confident that I actually felt.

Pikachu looked positive, I saw he had drained a whole ketchup bottle within the space of him waking up to now. I would have to keep him away from them, they were not safe around him.

The girls seized talking and got up also ready to leave. Tracey got up shortly after.

We all made our way to the beach which was a lot less packed than yesterday, you could actually see that there was lots of space, we just happened to pick a day that was not convenient, it seemed like most people thought like us on that particular day.

I let out Blastoise as we neared the water, he waded in and let us get on his back.

Mine and Camilla's Pikachu went to perch on Blastoise's head and vacated our shoulders.

We had gone far enough away from Mandarin island now that it was only a black dot in the distance, the only other thing I could see was the open ocean.

'So, Jordan…' Camilla started. '…do you have any idea about Rudy?' She asked.

I had expected a normal format battle with Cissy when I first met her, but she threw those expectations into the sea. Instead I was faced with target practice and a water race. I had thankfully beat her and gained my first badge.

I dint know what to expect of Danny, he kept his identity a secret until I completed his test of climbing a mountain with no aid from any of my Pokémon. He then got me to freeze steam with one of my Pokémon to create a block of ice, then I had to carve a toboggan out of that ice block. Finally with the three Pokémon I picked to help I had to race Danny down the mountain in my toboggan. I beat him in two of the three challenges, which earned me my second badge.

Rudy may or may not test me, I may get straight into the challenge or would have to prove myself first. I really had no idea how it would play out.

'I honestly don't, even if I did prepare for this, I wouldn't be ready. I'm just going to expect the unexpected, that could mean anything.' I replied.

'Well Jordan, you won't be waiting for too long.' Tracey said.

I looked to the distance, and sure enough there was an island.

As we got closer, I saw a small mountain in the middle that was surrounded by vegetation at the base. Before we could confirm it was Trovita island, I noticed whirlpools around us.

'help!' I voice screamed in alarm.

My friends and I looked around frantically.

Finally our eyes landed on a little girl who was getting sucked into a whirlpool, along with her Pokémon, a Seel.

I would have helped, but Blastoise could only have four people on his back at one time and I didn't have a second water type Pokémon.

Tracey had Marill, but that wouldn't be much help as it was small, smaller than a Seel Leaf couldn't help, she had no water type Pokémon.

I didn't matter though, Camilla was already on it.

'Seadra, light the stage.' She called

Camilla jumped off of Blastoise's back and onto Seadra's before heading to save the small girl who was in trouble.

My friends and I couldn't do anything, but watch.

The little girl was holding onto her Seel for dear life.

Camilla reached her quickly, Seadra had no problem staying out of the whirlpool.

'Grab my hand!' Camilla called out.

The little girl-with her free hand-reached out as far as she could to Camilla.

Camilla closed the distance, she grasped the little girls hand and hauled her onto Seadra-in front of her- along with Seel.

The little girl then guided to us to stone docks.

As soon as my friends and our Pikachu were off, I returned Blastoise.

Camilla returned her Seadra as he Pikachu went onto her shoulder and nuzzled her.

This little girl had auburn hair that fell to just above her shoulders, her sparkling blue eyes were looking at Camilla in adoration. I would be the same as her if a girl like Camilla saved me.

What's your name, sweetie?' Camilla asked.

'Mahri!' A boy called as he ran towards us. I guessed Mahri was the little girl's name.

This boy was about the same age as me, he had auburn hair-like Mahri-in a curtain hairstyle, and black eyes, unlike Mahri's

This must have been Mahri's older brother, I wondered if it was Rudy.

I have been looking over the whole island for you, where were you?' the boy asked.

'Seel wanted to play.' Mahri replied.

'And I've told you so many times that this side of the island is dangerous, can you not play on the other side?' The boy asked. He definitely cared about Mahri's safety.

'I'm sorry.' Mahri apologized.

'I'm guessing you are the one that saved her?' The boy asked talking to Camilla.

'I did.' Camilla replied.

'What is your name?' The boy asked.

'Camilla.' Camilla replied.

'Thank you, Camilla.' The boy said.

'She's very pretty.' Mahri chirped in.

Camilla blushed at that statement.

'My name is Rudy.' Rudy said ignoring his sisters comment. 'And these must be your friends?' Rudy guessed, turning to face us.

'I am…' I started.

'Jordan Hale of Pallet Town.' Rudy finished for me. 'With your other two travelling companions, Tracey Sketchit, and Leaf Green of Lavender Town.' Rudy said.

I was confused how he knew who we were.

He saw the look on my face and chuckled in understanding.

'Danny told me about all four of you, and if Danny lost against you, I guess I have quite the challenge ahead of me.' Rudy stated.

So Danny had informed Rudy that we were coming, it had been a while since we were on Danny's island, so I didn't understand how Rudy had waited this long. This island seemed pretty isolated and only inhabited Rudy and Mahri, that we knew of yet.

'Why don't we get you dried off?' Rudy asked his sister rhetorically. 'May I?' Rudy asked holding out his arm for Camilla.

Without a second thought Camilla hooked her arm through Rudy's.

I looked at Leaf.

'You're turning red.' She mouthed at me.

'Shut up.' I mouthed back before we followed Rudy.

We walked off the pier into the undergrowth of foliage, the trees created a canopy above us, we started to ascend a hill once we came out from the trees and bushes.

I saw Rudy whispering things in Camilla's ear and I could feel my face heating up. I tried to keep it cool as I could not let Leaf tease me again.

I thought that I should ask Rudy a question to distract him from Camilla, but I didn't know what to say. So, I had to put up with whatever was happening.

Once we reached the top of the hill, I saw a small cobblestone brick cottage, this must be where Rudy and Mahri had been living.

Rudy opened the door and let Camilla and Mahri in first.

'Come on in, guys.' Rudy said following Camilla and his sister in.

Leaf, Tracey and I followed them in.

Rudy disappeared, probably to find a few towels for Mahri.

'You are really pretty.' Mahri said as we entered the house.

'I think you are pretty too Mahri.' Camilla replied.

The house was really nice, just how you'd expect the inside of a cottage to look like.

All wooden, no carpets, very open and authentic, if I didn't know any better, I would say this was in the middle of nowhere, but the TV ruined the image, but everything else seemed like it belonged.

Rudy came back with a few towels and gave one to Mahri who instantly started to dry her hair while Rudy placed another one around her shoulders.

'Rudy, Camilla thinks I'm pretty.' Mahri told her brother.

'Did you tell her I think she looks pretty?' Rudy asked.

I saw Camilla blush.

I felt my face heat up again.

'No. I didn't.' Mahri responded.

'So, Jordan?' Rudy questioned. 'Can I show you something?' he asked.

Before I could answer, he led me down a set of stairs. Down the stairs was a wooden door.

Rudy opened the door and inside the walls were all white, the floor was laminate, and I heard music playing.

I saw a few Pokémon dancing, among them was a Pidgeot, Starmie and Venomoth. There were a few other Pokémon that I did not recognize dancing with them, I wondered why Rudy's Pokémon were dancing.

'I let my Pokémon train down here, them dancing keeps them loose, and it ups their performance, in my experience a Pokémon who is able to be free performs better and they're more willing to help you.' Rudy replied.

It was definitely an interesting way to look at how other people's Pokémon trained. Although I still had no idea how Rudy battled, I was going into this challenge blind like the other two.

'So, I guess you now know how these Orange island challenges work? You have to complete a task successfully before I accept your challenge.' Rudy explained.

I knew how these worked, I just wish I didn't have to complete a task. I just wish I could have started the gym challenge without first completing a task.

Rudy then led us back upstairs.

I saw Tracey had sketched a Pokémon downstairs who was dancing, it looked like a very good drawing.

He then took us all outside, Camilla's arm once again linked through his while his other hand held Mahri's.

He took us down the opposite side of the hill we ascended. Once we escaped the protection of the trees, I saw the sea, there was a wooden dock on this side and I couldn't see one whirlpool, it was definitely safer on this side, I understood Rudy's concern, even though it wasn't the same, if one of my friends got caught in a whirlpool, I'd be worried too.

Tied to the wooden dock was a boat.

'Okay, Jordan, in this challenge there are concrete stacks jutting out from the sea, I trust you can see all of them.' Rudy asked rhetorically.

I looked to the place where he gestured and there were around twenty concrete stacks jutting out from the water, some were on slight angles, they reached all different height, but none of them were less than twice the height of me, from the water's surface.

'On top of three of them are targets, your challenge is to hit these targets, do that and I will accept your challenge.' Rudy said.

So, my task was to hit targets high upon stacks, this seemed very challenging.

'You will have one chance, once we have gone past all the stacks the challenge is over.' Rudy added.

So not only did I have to hit the targets, but I had a specific time frame to do it in, this challenging task just got a lot harder. One try, and I guess if I didn't do it first try then I wouldn't be able to battle him, and I would have not been able to compete in the Orange islands league.

'One more thing,' Rudy started, 'you have to hit all three targets, or I will not accept your challenge.'

Rudy didn't make this difficult, Rudy made this impossible. I had to hit all three targets. First, I had to know where the targets were, then I needed to hit them and that would secure my challenge, all the while on a moving boat.

Rudy hopped onto the boat, with Mahri and Camilla following him.

'Shall we?' Rudy asked.

My friend and I boarded the boat.

'Now, before we start this challenge, you must pick a Pokémon to hit the targets, if they are successful in this task, they will be one of your three Pokémon that will use in my challenge, how is that?' Rudy asked.

I didn't have much of a say, saying no meant I forfeited this Gym badge, and I would not back down from achieving my dream.

I knew exactly who I would use, they helped me in my task against Cissy, then they helped me win that first badge, then they helped me win my second badge against Danny, and now they were going to help me win my third, maybe I should give them a rest on the fourth, unless I needed to use them.

'Blastoise, I choose you.' I said and Blastoise stood next to me on the boat.

'Okay.' Rudy said. 'As soon as I start this boat, the challenge starts.' Rudy continued.

'Okay Blastoise, we have to hit three targets that are on those stacks and them we can take on the Gym leaders challenge.' I told Blastoise.

I knew he was determined to help me, Blastoise had never let me down before and I knew that he didn't want to start now, but even if Blastoise didn't complete this successfully I would still be proud of him, because he tried his best, that's all I could ask from any of my Pokémon.

'Ready?' Rudy asked as soon as he started the boat.

This was it, this is how my challenge started.

I didn't know how fast this boat would go, so that was another thing that I had to take into account when Blastoise was shooting at the targets.

The boat slowly moved forward before it gradually gained speed, I knew exactly what Rudy was doing now, every second that passed the boat would move faster by a little, it would be harder to judge when Blastoise should shoot the targets.

I saw the first one come up to the right of the boat.

'Blastoise, hydro pump, up there.' I said pointing to the stack it was on.

A wooden box fell off of the stack and into the water below.

That was one down and now two more to go, but now the boat was faster. I knew why the orange islands were a harder league now, had anyone ever won against the champion recently?

I found the second target quite easily, despite the increased speed the boat had gained.

'Blastoise, hydro pump, that one.' I said.

This wooden box flew off the stack and landed a few metres away from the stack in the water.

Now that the boat was quickly gaining speed it would be about thirty seconds until the next box was not in range of us, until we had either won or failed the challenge.

I found the box as we passed it.

'Blastoise!' I exclaimed, starting to panic. 'Up there.' I said.

Blastoise turned and used its hydro pump on the last box. I saw the box skid to the edge of the pillar, it was on the verge of falling off and staying on, it didn't fall off. A couple of seconds passed while Rudy slowed the boat down.

My heart felt like lead, the last box didn't fall.

My friends all looked at me with an apologetic look.

'Well…' Rudy started before he was cut off by a splash.

I whipped around and saw that the last box had fallen in the water.

My mood lifted higher than a plane.

I had completed Rudy's challenge, if that wasn't the hardest thing I had ever done, I didn't know what was, who knew how hard it was to hit a target when the boat kept gaining speed every second that passed by?

'…done, Jordan. I accept your challenge.' Rudy finished.

I knew exactly what he was going to say before the splash cut him off.

Rudy steered the boat to a stack which had a rope ladder on it.

'Climb up and I'll meet you over there.' Rudy said pointing to a stack opposite with a rope ladder on it also.

I returned Blastoise, knowing I would have to use him later. I didn't know if I'd be able to return him once I reached the top of the stack.

Once I reached the top, I saw that the view was nice, I didn't have much room to move on this platform, almost none.

Rudy reached the top of his platform a few seconds later.

'Before we start,' Rudy said' 'I would like this opportunity to dedicate this battle to Camilla.' Rudy said.

I felt my face burn up again as Rudy sent a bouquet of flowers down to Camilla, she caught them and showed Rudy. If my face wasn't heated already I felt my face burning up more.

Rudy looked at me in surprise.

'Are you okay, Jordan?' he asked me. He sounded genuinely concerned.

I felt myself calm down a little, for some reason this guy infuriated me when he talked to Camilla, maybe it was because I knew her secret and I didn't want her to ever get hurt like that again.

'I'm fine.' I said through my teeth.

Where did that come from.

I relaxed, I didn't want anything to disrupt me from this.

I had to solely focused on this.

'Okay, Jordan. I'll explain the rules, we will use three different Pokémon, When you use Blastoise, I will use a water type, if you use a fire type so will I, etcetera, make sense?' Rudy asked me.

I understood that this was a battle of types, so water against water, etcetera, etcetera it was a battle where types were against the same type.

I didn't want to use Blastoise first, he should rest for a while before he battled.

I knew who I would use first, I was sure that Rudy had a type that my Pokémon was.

'Sandslash, I choose you.' I sent out my Pokémon and he landed on the Pillar that was in front of me.

I instantly regretted my choice, that was because I remembered most of Sandslash's attacks were physical and Sandslash could not reach the pillar that was in front of Rudy from where he was.

Rudy didn't seem to mind.

'Rhydon.' Rudy called.

My first thought was "Oh, no". I had bad experiences with Rhydon.

I had two bad experiences with Rhydon, both from the same person. I first met them in the Silph. Co on the top floor, then I met them in the Viridian City Gym. Giovanni had a Rhydon, it destroyed my whole team with one move. Then it was Giovanni's last Pokémon against me and I almost lost against it then.

This would be a hard battle since there were only a few moves that were ground types that weren't physical type attacks. I knew only one my Sandslash had, but it was a ground type move, so I knew it wouldn't be effective against Rhydon, I just hoped that Rudy's Rhydon didn't have any moves that would be any more effective than my move would be against his Pokémon.

'Mud shot.' I called.

I knew there was no room for our Pokémon to dodge, so they would have to bear through each moves pain.

Rhydon got hit by the mud shot, but didn't move, I was hoping to push it off of the platform and into the water, that should gain me a victory for one battle, right?

'Focus blast.' Rudy called.

I knew this may push me off, but I also knew it wasn't super effective against Sandslash. This was also probably Rudy's best move to use against me, but I couldn't let the move hit.

'Mud shot.' I called once again, it was the only move that I had which was non-physical.

Mud shot hit Rhydon before it couldn't concentrate and force the blast towards me, it lost its focus and stumbled, but managed to stay on the pillar, I give it credit for being able to stay on the pillar with two moves that hit consecutively that should have pushed it off, or at least back, but Rhydon looked like it hadn't moved.

I needed to use a move that would get rid of Rhydon quickly, but I only had physical moves left.

'Focus blast.' Rudy called while I was trying to think of something, he was keeping me on my toes, but all gym leaders were supposed to do that, they can turn the tides with a flick of their wrist.

I couldn't do anything to stop this focus blast.

Sandslash got hit, but didn't move at all from the attack, but I knew it hurt.

I thought of a move that might work.

I looked down to Camilla, she saw the look on my face and knew all too well what I was planning, she grabbed on to the side of the boat and told my other friends and Mahri to do the same.

I prayed that this would work.

'Sandslash, use magnitude.'

Rudy looked confused at this, as if this move was foreign to him, I hoped it wasn't because he was using a ground type Pokémon like me.

Sandslash jumped and with its claws smashed onto the pillar, I saw a crack go straight through the middle of it, but somehow it stayed still. The water below churned before a huge wave rocketed straight towards Rhydon and Rudy, the shock Rudy had on his eyes was unmistakeable, before he was hid behind the wave as well as Rhydon.

As soon as the wave disappeared I saw a soaked Rudy with a Pokeball in his hand.

'Well done, Jordan.' Rudy congratulated me before he moved his wet hair away from his face. 'I returned Rhydon before the wave engulfed him which means I forfeit that battle and you win the first one.' Rudy told me.

'Sandslash, return.' I said and knew that I may have to use Blastoise next, but then I thought I would use him last, I had to choose between three Pokémon, one was much too large for the platform, one I doubted Rudy had a type matchup for, which meant that only left me with one option, but I'm sure he would be great.

'You ready buddy?' I asked Pikachu.

In an answer, Pikachu jumped off my shoulder and onto the platform that had a crack in it.

This would be an easier battle now Pikachu would be able to dodge as he was a small Pokémon.

'Electabuzz.' Rudy called.

Electabuzz appeared. I had battled this Pokémon once already, against Lt. Surge, but it was with Sandslash when it was a Sandshrew and it lost against an Electabuzz. I don't think I ever had Pikachu battle an Electric type, now was its chance to show that it wouldn't be pushed around by a larger electric type Pokémon.

'Electabuzz, Thunderbolt.'

'Pikachu. Use iron tail on the pillar.' I said.

Pikachu's tail glowed white before turning silver and sticking it in the ground, it then balanced itself on its tail as Electabuzz released its attack straight at Pikachu, but Pikachu didn't receive any damage, it just gained more power.

I think it was time to give Electabuzz what it gave me, but a little bit more.

'Pikachu, use thunderbolt.'

Pikachu took its tail out of the ground and jumped up before using thunderbolt, it brought energy in from the air around it before releasing a powerful thunderbolt towards Electabuzz.

Electabuzz got hit and it fell to one knee because of how powerful the thunderbolt was, not only had it received Pikachu's thunderbolt, but it had been given its own back.

I knew I needed more than just thunderbolt to do damage to Electabuzz.

Pikachu only had electric moves that were not physical, it had agility, but it couldn't run on the small amount of surface it had, and it had two physical move I could not use. I only had one other move to use, but it was also electric, this battle was proving harder than I thought, but Rudy also looked lost. Like he only had thunderbolt.

'Pikachu, use thunderbolt.' I said.

'Thunderbolt.' Rudy countered.

Both attacks hit the other and battled for dominance over the other. I saw both Pokémon strain as the thunderbolt wavered in the middle.

I knew that this was probably a bad idea as Pikachu was smaller that Electabuzz, by quite a bit, but I knew that Pikachu was powerful enough to counter Electabuzz's thunderbolt.

I had a thought that would stop both our attacks, but Pikachu may just win the battle.

'Pikachu, stick your tail in the ground.' I said.

Pikachu's tail glowed white before turning silver, then he stuck it in the ground.

Pikachu halted its thunderbolt, and Electabuzz's thunderbolt hit Pikachu, but he just absorbed it, like last time.

Rudy should have known exactly what I was going to do, like last time, but I wasn't going to release a thunderbolt, I was going to use another attack.

'Pikachu, use thunder.' I said.

A thundercloud appeared over Pikachu, he released a thunder and it hit directly on top of Electabuzz, I knew that Pokémon couldn't dodge an attack on these pillars, so a move with low accuracy, would probably hit.

I was glad that thunder did.

We saw that Electabuzz was falling off the pillar.

'Electabuzz, come back.' Rudy said as he returned Electabuzz to its Pokeball.

Pikachu came back to me and perched back upon my shoulder.

Now Rudy and I had one Pokémon left, I knew that I had to secure a victory to win my next badge.

Now I was going to use Blastoise, so Rudy would have to pick a water type.

'Blastoise, I choose you.' I said and Blastoise stood o the Pillar. It had no way of moving on the Pillar, where Pikachu had quite a lot of room, and Sandslash had a little room, but Blastoise had none.

'Starmie.' Rudy called.

I saw Starmie land on the pillar in front of Rudy. I remember Misty having a Starmie, but Rudy's might have been more powerful.

I couldn't let my guard down and I had to win.

'Starmie, psybeam.' Rudy called.

I forgot that Starmie could use psychic attacks.

The Psybeam hit, but Blastoise didn't look too affected.

'Hydro pump.' I said.

Blastoise aimed both its cannons at Starmie and fired.

'Protect.' Rudy said.

This move was pretty much self-explanatory, but I still hadn't seen it before.

A slightly transparent green dome encased Starmie. When the hydro pump hit, it bounced off harmlessly.

That was not good, Protect was a move that stopped an attack from hitting the Pokémon using that move, it would have been very useful to have that move in certain battles.

I did not know what to do now, especially if Rudy was going to use protect all the time. I was in a bit of a pickle. I had to find a way to stop Starmie using protect.

I glanced at my friends who were watching us with interest.

I had to show my friends that I was strong and that I could win, but its not like they didn't believe I could win anyway.

'Blastoise, rapid spin.'

Rudy looked at me in confusion, but Blastoise understood.

Rudy looked at me like I had forgotten we could not use physical moves, but he had no idea how I battled. I didn't want rapid spin to hit.

Blastoise began to spin in its shell on the spot.

'Blastoise, hydro pump.' I said.

This time Rudy didn't issue an attack, not until the last second.

'Rapid spin.' He said.

He made Starmie imitate, Blastoises attack.

The Hydro pump, bounced harmlessly off of Starmie. Rudy was the first trainer to ever be able to counter that attack, no-one had been able to dodge that attack ,not until now, but now I had no idea how to win against Rudy, that was my trump card. I had no more idea's to win against Rudy. I'd now have to think of something quick to ensure victory.

'Jordan, I live around water, you're going to have to think better than that.' Rudy said.

He was right, all the Orange crew were surrounded by water, and every one of them I've beaten with Blastoise. Rudy was proving to be the most difficult.

Cissy proved difficult because she and I had a race of Blastoise, to see which one was better, I narrowly beat her.

Danny proved to be difficult because I had to win a sled race in which he was experienced with. I narrowly won because I flew across the finish line.

I realised that the last two gym challenges I faced were races, to see who was the fastest. I wondered if that would work here also. Would I be able to be faster than Starmie to ensure victory?

I needed to see if I was able to be faster than Starmie, but I didn't know how to do it. With every solution, another problem arose.

I had another move I could use, but didn't know if Rudy would be able to counter it.

'Blastoise, use surf.' I said.

Blastoise created a huge wall of water and it was head for Starmie.

'Protect.' I heard Rudy call as he was also lost behind the wall of water.

Once the water wall disappeared, I saw Starmie was encased in that green dome once again.

This was getting ridiculous, I had not given Starmie any damage yet and Blastoise had received some, it was if Rudy was toying with me.

Both Rhydon and Electabuzz were easy enough to get rid of, but Starmie was proving to be difficult.

'Psybeam.' Rudy called.

Another attack that hit Blastoise.

I was not liking this, I had to have something that would get rid of Starmie.

I suddenly had an idea, that may put me at a slight advantage.

'Use scald.' I said.

Blastoise spat a quick jet of water straight into Starmie, Rudy had no time to issue an attack.

Starmie was hit and cringed at the status effect that came along with it, now I just had to keep Blastoise from fainting until the burn effect reduced Starmie's health low enough so I could attack it without it being able to react quick enough.

Rudy also noticed this, he knew he had to get rid of Blastoise quickly, but I had to keep Blastoise or else I would lose.

'Blastoise rapid spin.' I said.

Blastoise hid in its shell and started to spin on the spot.

Rudy was waiting for me to issue an attack, so he could use protect again, but I wouldn't let him.

Starmie got hit by the burn.

'Hydro pump.' I called.

Jets of water shot out of Blastoise's cannons and hit Starmie.

Rudy couldn't issue an attack because Starmie was receiving pain from the status condition I afflicted it with.

I timed that perfectly.

Starmie now looked like it had been weakened.

Blastoise looked proud of himself. He should be, I was proud of him. The trust between us was unbreakable.

Now I could finish off Starmie.

But Rudy smiled, he had one trick up his sleeve he didn't want me to know about. I knew that whatever Rudy decided, I would now lose.

'Aqua jet.' I said.

I clamped my had over my mouth immediately, but Blastoise didn't see that.

I just issued a physical attack.

It wasn't that physical attacks were band from this battle, but they'd be a bit hard or impossible to hit. I may have just accidentally given the match to Rudy.

Blastoise carried out the attack and in the blink of an eye, Blastoise was standing on top of the pillar Starmie was on a second ago and Starmie was falling into the water.

'Starmie return.' Rudy called.

I looked at Blastoise, he had helped me win my third Gym badge. He looked happy, I was happy too.

'Blastoise return.' I said.

I had won my third badge, now I only had one left.

'Start, climbing down Jordan, I'll come and get you.' Rudy told me as he started to descend the rope ladder.

I descended the ladder and as soon as I reached the bottom I could get on the boat.

'Well done, Jordan.' Leaf congratulated me.

'That was a great battle.' Tracey agreed.

'You looked worried up there.' Camilla told me as she gave me a hug.

I relaxed into her hug.

'That was a good battle Jordan, I believe you are entitled to the badge?' Rudy asked rhetorically. 'Let's go to my house and I can award it to you there.'

We got to Rudy's house and he disappeared down to where the Pokémon were, he came back a few seconds later.

'In recognition of your victory over me in the Trovita island challenge, I present to you the spike-shell badge.'

Rudy handed me the spiked shell badge.

It was round with seven irregular spikes around a swirl pattern, the badge was a beige colour with a small pink gem in the middle.

I took the badge off of Rudy, now I only had one more badge to collect, but I didn't know where it was or what it was, or who it was I was going to challenge.

'The next Gym you'll need to take on is on Kumquat island.' Rudy told me.

Rudy then walked us to the pier.

I let out Blastoise, I knew he would take us to the next island and to my next Gym battle.

'Good bye, Jordan, good luck.' Rudy said as I hopped onto Blastoise.

Camilla was about to get on, but Rudy stopped her.

'Camilla…' he started. '…I have a proposition.' He continued.

'Yes?' Camilla asked.

'Would you stay on this island with me?' Rudy asked, holding Camilla's hand.

Camilla blushed.

I felt my face heat up.

Camilla looked at me and blushed even harder.

'That's a good idea, brother.' Mahri said. 'Then we can be like sisters.' Mahri continued.

Camilla faced back to Mahri and Rudy.

I couldn't say anything, this was Camilla's decision.

Camilla then looked back at me.

'I cant.' Camilla said.

'Oh, why is that?' Rudy asked.

'I went on this journey with Jordan and Leaf and Tracey to travel, if I stay here on this island, I would be giving up on my dream' Camilla said. 'I'm sorry.' Camilla added. 'I'd like to keep travelling and learning about new places.' Camilla continued.

Rudy sighed in disappointment.

Mahri looked sad too.

'I wont forget you Mahri, remember, I saved you.' Camilla said. 'How could I forget someone I saved?' Camilla asked.

Mahri looked a little happier that Camilla said that she won't forget her.

'Okay.' Rudy sighed. 'Goodbye Camilla.' Rudy said giving Camilla a small bouquet of purple flowers.

Camilla blushed again before hopping on Blastoise with us.

Next destination Kumquat island.

 **Hey all, I'm so glad I got this out before Christmas. I wanted to. Now Jordan has only one more badge before he can take on the Orange league champion. I will aim to get the next chapter out before the new year, so I can start the movie arc in the new year. Anyway, until next time.**

 **Chapter Eighteen: Johto on Butwal.**


	18. Johto on Butwal

**Disclaimer: Pokémon, Pokémon, Pokémon…doesn't belong to anyone I know personally, including me.**

18: Johto on Butwal

My friends and I were on Blastoise, and we were heading to my next gym challenge on Kumquat island where I would receive my fourth and final badge.

Tracey was looking in a brochure for the Orange Islands, seeing if there was anything else we could do in the archipelago, something that might distract me from my fourth badge.

I doubted it though, that's something my mind was now set on, but if Tracey found something interesting, I would not deny him, my friends came before me. If they were interested in seeing something, then I would not deny them that.

'You know there's an island near here with Pokémon only native to Johto?' Tracey asked.

Leaf and I looked at each other in surprise.

'Can we go there?' We both asked in unison.

We both asked the other. Since both of us asked at the same time and each other, it must have been a yes.

I knew we were side-tracking, but getting the chance to see new Pokémon and learn more about a region I had never been to before, that was something that both Leaf and I were definitely interested in.

Leaf would want to know everything about every single Pokémon that resided there, and this would also give her the chance to fill up her Pokédex more.

That was a rivalry, she and I had. We were seeing who had the most Pokémon in our Pokédex. I was way behind her. She had almost completed the Kanto Pokédex, she had about ten to fifteen slots left to fill, they included the legendary birds. Two of which I had in my Pokédex.

I missed Zapdos because I was so in awe of it, as did my friends.

'What's the name of the island?' Camilla asked.

'Butwal.' Tracey said trying to pronounce it right. 'Apparently it is very popular in the archipelago as it is a spot for Pokémon trainers looking for rare Pokémon.' Tracey continued.

This was a great place to fill up our Pokédex and it was apparently popular, so we wouldn't be the only ones there.

This would be the best place for Leaf to visit, she was definitely on the road to becoming a Pokémon researcher, she wasn't really a trainer, she did only have five Pokémon, most trainers had six. I didn't at the moment, but that was because Aerodactyl was with Lance and Charizard was in Charicific valley with Liza. At the moment I had five, just like Leaf, and Camilla.

Technically Camilla has six, but only five can fight.

I was a bit worried at that, Camilla has had Cubone for ages, but it still wasn't fighting, that was weird, sure it had lost its mother, but I'm sure it would still be able to fight after a while, I thought for sure it would just before the elite four, or after. I was sure that Camilla wasn't holding it back. Maybe Cubone, just had separation issues, because of the traumatic experience it had.

This place would also be good for Tracey, he would be able to get sketches of Pokémon that were native to another region, sure he already had a Pokémon native to that region, but I doubt he had visited Butwal before.

This would be good for me, I loved to meet new Pokémon, it was something I had experienced loads, but that was the best thing, every time I met new Pokémon, there would always be more. I may even catch a Pokémon on this island, it would complete my team of six for the champion when I got to him. I was determined to, now more than ever because I had three out of four badges.

This was good for Camilla, she said she loved adventure, so new things were good no matter what they were. She may even get a new Pokémon. She would then have a full team of six Pokémon, she had not yet had a full team. I didn't even know if she wanted one. I mean she had Cubone, but Cubone wasn't one for battling, so I didn't know if he counted as an official Pokémon.

As Blastoise continued to swim I saw an island nearing. I guessed this was Butwal, this was the island that was said to be packed with tourists and full of Pokémon native to the Johto region. It wasn't very tall, not like any other island I had seen, from what I could tell it was very flat, there was probably grassland on the top, but we weren't that close yet, so I couldn't tell.

'…Jordan?' I heard Leaf ask the last part of a question.

'Huh?' I asked.

'Leaf asked if it would help you to gain a new Pokémon for your team going here.' Tracey told me.

'I had thought about that.' I replied. I did need to catch a sixth Pokémon, but I didn't want a Pokémon that already had type match with my other Pokémon.

'So what did you think?' Leaf asked.

'I'm not sure.' I replied. 'I have never seen these Pokémon before, so I don't know what types they are or what to expect.'

I thought Tracey might know about some of these Pokémon.

'Tracey might know some of the Pokémon there.' I voiced my thoughts.

'That's where you're wrong, Jordan.' Tracey said. 'Before you lot came along, I had only resided on that island. I had never been anywhere but that island, where I have lived since I was born.' Tracey said. 'I have lived on that island looking for rare Pokémon and Pokémon that are not normally found around there, but I had no way to go to other islands, until you came along.'

'So if I hadn't come along…' I started.

'…I probably wouldn't have left.' Tracey finished.

'I'm not that great.'

I knew that Leaf and Camilla would have interjected and would've given me _another_ rundown of everything I had done since I met them.

'Not that great?' Tracey asked, bewildered by my statement. 'On that day we met, I was able to see two rare Pokémon because of you.' Tracey told me. 'I saw your Pikachu and I was able to, not only see one Lapras, but a whole pod of them. They were because of you, that is why I have decided to travel with you, that is why I have seen more rare Pokémon, because of you.' Tracey told me. 'You've given me a chance and I took it.' Tracey added.

I knew that Leaf and Camilla would say that Tracey didn't know the half of what I have done, but Tracey would definitely have a rough idea, and they probably told him already.

'Look!' Camilla exclaimed pointing in the direction of the island.

We were definitely closer now and I could see a beach that was quite large if you stood on it, but not like the one on Mandarin island, it was remarkably smaller than that one, but it was still quite big.

Although Camilla had not pointed out that the island was closer, she had pointed out what was on the beach, there were small blue things jumping up and down all over the beach, scattered randomly, they were definitely Pokémon, but I had never seen them before, and I didn't know what they were, but they liked the beach.

As we got closer, I saw that jets of water were coming out from above them and splashing onto the beach, they were wetting the sand for some reason.

Blastoise reached the beach, but the small blue creatures paid us no attention, they continued with what they were doing. I returned Blastoise and looked around to see if there was anyone else on the beach, but I couldn't see anyone.

Maybe there were further in on the island.

These little Pokémon were definitely new.

They were primarily light blue in colour, they had an oval shaped head, but on its side, they had small black eyes with white pupils. On the sides of its head are purple shaped branching gills, they had a body that is less than half the size of the head, but this was upright, on its belly it had three dark blue horizontal markings. It had two small rounded feet and a thick tail behind it. I saw that some of these Pokémon had more branched gills than others.

Camilla, Leaf and I took out our Pokédex to scan this Pokémon.

' _Wooper the water fish Pokémon._ _Wooper usually lives in water. However, it occasionally comes out onto land in search of food. On land, it coats its body with a gooey, toxic film.'_ Our Pokédexes said.

So this Pokémon was called Wooper?

I knew this Pokémon was a water type that was obvious for three reasons: One, it was on the beach near the sea. Two, it shot water out from above it. Three, the Pokédex said it was a _water_ fish Pokémon. But I wasn't sure if it had a secondary type.

Leaf would know in a matter of seconds.

'It says, it's a water and ground type.' Leaf said.

That was obvious now, I knew why it was wetting the sand, it was to make it clumpy to make it sticky like the ground.

'It's best not to touch them, they have a toxic film around them when they are out of the water, it is toxic to humans, but not toxic to Pokémon.' Leaf explained.

Maybe Wooper wasn't a Pokémon that I would have on my team.

The Wooper didn't seem hostile, but I didn't want to chance it, we walked up the ramp that led to a massive meadow.

It was huge, but I was able to see the other side and then the water. This island wasn't that big. In every direction the horizon was sea. I saw a few trees dotted around providing shade in places.

There were definitely more Pokémon than the Wooper we saw.

I also saw something that surprised me: there was no-one else here, no more humans, we were the only ones here. That confused me, Tracey said the brochure said that this place was full of tourists, that wasn't the opposite of what was happening here, what was happening here was a whole other level. The only humans that were here were my friends and I. that brochure must be outdated, by years and years.

'Tracey, I thought you said this place was full of tourists.' I said.

'That's what's the brochure said.' Tracey replied.

'There's no-one else here.' Camilla observed.

A small bird landed in front of us on the ground and looked up at us, a few more followed hopping behind, looking at us curiously.

Its body was a green sphere. It had a small yellow rounded beak and rounded almond eyes. It had yellow and red wings with black stripes, I doubted it was able to fly, the wings looked much too small. It had a red crest atop its head and three red tail feathers. Its two feet had three talons each, one at the back and two at the front.

Again my friends and I took out our Pokédexes.

' _Natu, the tiny bird Pokémon_ _._ _Natu has a highly developed jumping ability. The Pokémon flaps and leaps onto tree branches that are taller than grown-up people to pick at the tree's new shoots.'_ The Pokédex told us.

So these Natu could jump over our heads if they wanted to.

One quirked its head in my direction before jumping up and landing on the shoulder opposite to Pikachu.

Well it was obvious they were a flying type, even though they were obviously flightless. But I didn't know if they had a secondary typing.

'They are flying and psychic.' Leaf told me.

I remember Liam having a psychic type, he had a Kadabra and the an Alakazam which he mega evolved in the Pokémon league. So this was also psychic. I hoped it wasn't as powerful as Sabrina's Pokémon, her Mr. Mime and Kadabra.

I shuddered remembering the bad memory, the first time my aura awakened, when I found out that I had aura. It hast awoken since the Pokémon league, maybe I hadn't needed it.

I was still thinking about how empty of people this place was, did this place become boring, surely there were loads of people that could still come to the island or loads of people that haven't seen some native Johto Pokémon.

My friends and I walked forward a bit more, the Natu in front of us moving out of the way.

The Natu on my shoulder chirped happily. It's friends decided to jump on my friends shoulders. Tracey had one on each shoulder, as did Leaf whereas Camilla had one on her left shoulder, opposite to the one her Pikachu was on. I had one on my right and I felt one nestle on the flap of my cap.

We saw a primarily pink Pokémon jumping around the flowers. It's body was roundish, it had two small ears, each had black on the inside, it had small yellow eyes, on top of its body there were two leaved that were serrated, like a dandelions leaves. It had four stubby legs and a roundish tail.

Again I took out my Pokédex

' _Hoppip, the cottonweed Pokémon._ _This Pokémon drifts and floats with the wind. If it senses the approach of strong winds, Hoppip links its leaves with other Hoppip to prepare against being blown away.'_ My Pokédex said.

I knew that Hoppip was also a flying the way it hopped around the flowers, that also led me to believe that it was a grass type also, I never though a grass type and flying type would go together because grass was weak against flying, and both were weak to ice, but Leaf would know what they were, maybe it wasn't a flying and grass type.

'It's a grass and flying type.' Leaf confirmed my assumptions. 'Hoppip enjoy gentle breezes around places like this, but when there are strong winds they link together to prevent being blown away.' Leaf told us.

I was glad Leaf was here, she was enjoying this, telling us little facts on the Pokémon, she always wanted to know more about Pokémon, so she kept reading, unlike Camilla and I.

Camilla was just here for the journey, she didn't care about filling up the Pokédex, but she still did it, I guess it was something to pursue, but she promised something to Akari, and I knew that Camilla was not one to break promises.

I saw something hopping in through the flowers. I knew it was another Pokémon, but I couldn't tell much of what it looked like. I only knew that it was yellow and brown and had a sapling sprouting from its head.

I opened up my Pokédex to see if I could get a clearer picture of this Pokémon.

' _Sunkern, the seed Pokémon._ _Sunkern tries to move as little as it possibly can. It does so because it tries to conserve all the nutrients it has stored in its body for its evolution. It will not eat a thing, subsisting only on morning dew.'_ The Pokédex told me.

I saw a picture of Sunkern on the screen of the Pokédex. Sunkern was mostly yellow, with a sapling growing atop its head, surrounding the sapling are triangular protrusions, it had three brown vertical stripes on it, two start from just above its eyes the other starts just under its mouth.

'It says here that Sunkern don't move much.' Leaf said,

That didn't seem the case here, as they were bouncing around happily.

'It says because they're weak.' Leaf replied.

'It makes sense.' Tracey started. 'Sunkern have no real competition here, they are a grass type, psychic doesn't affect grass that much, its only threat is Hoppip and Natu, but they aren't hostile Pokémon, the Natu are so used to humans they are perching on our shoulders, so they won't attack and Hoppip are just enjoying the gentle breeze, they have no need to stay still, in another wild place they may move less, but here they have no reason to.' Tracey told us.

That made sense, it was probably going to be like that for all Pokémon, no competition then there would be no need to be like the rest of the Pokémon around the world.

I saw a Pokémon was chasing the Sunkern.

This Pokémon had a green body that was bulbous as it reached the bottom. It had green leaves and arms and its legs were also green, each foot had two toes on them. It had a cream round head with yellow triangular petals around the rim.

' _Sunflora, the sun Pokémon, and the evolved form of Sunkern._ _Sunflora converts solar energy into nutrition. It moves around actively in the daytime when it is warm. It stops moving as soon as the sun goes down for the night.'_

Sunflora was waving its arms chasing the Sunkern.

This was expected of the Sunflora because this was unnatural behaviour for the Sunkern, so the Sunflora didn't know how to react but chase them.

I saw other Sunflora in the meadow, but they were facing the sun, just like the entry said, they stop moving when the sun goes down, so they obviously like the sun, they were the sun Pokémon after all.

'When it gets dark the Sunflora close their petals, it seems that they'll only open up to the sun. It also says that if the sun is not seen by them, they will also have their petals closed.' Leaf said.

I looked at Tracey, I saw he was tracing a Natu that was on his shoulder, the Natu seemed to like being the centre of attention.

I heard Camilla giggle next to me.

'What's so funny?' I asked.

'The Natu on your head has fallen asleep.' She replied.

How I wish I could have seen that, but I was glad my had was that comfy for it.

I saw another Pokémon running through the flowers.

This Pokémon had a long neck. There was a white blaze on its muzzle, which ended with its round, pink nose. There were two horns with bulbous tips on top of its head. Its front half is yellow with black spots, whereas its back half is black with yellow spots. There are many triangular, pink spikes along its back. This Pokémon has a tail that has a head of its own. The tails head is primarily black, like the back half of the Pokémon, but it has yellow eyes, a mouth full of sharp teeth, and a small brain.

' _Girafarig, the long neck Pokémon._ _Girafarig rear head contains a tiny brain that is too small for thinking. However, the rear head doesn't need to sleep, so it can keep watch over its surroundings 24 hours a day.'_ The Pokédex said.

That was useful, like if it got attacked at night the rear head could warn it or protect it.

'Girafarig tail relies on scent, if it smells something alluring it will bite.' Leaf said.

So the tail was useful, and a nuisance.

I went over to one of the trees and sat under it, my friends followed me, they also sat under the tree.

I took off my bag and let all my Pokémon out, they could rest if they wanted to. I knew Snorlax would.

As soon as Snorlax was out all the Natu fled us and sat on his stomach instead. The only way Snorlax would be awake was if there was any food.

My Dragonite flew around the island before settling on sitting under a tree on another part of the island.

My Blastoise went to the edge of the island and jumped into the sea, that was probably going to relax him, he needed it after carrying us all over the place.

My Sandslash, just burrowed itself underground, when it dint come up, I thought it must be relaxing under there.

Pikachu jumped off my shoulder and helped Camilla's Pikachu with helping to carry and then play with Cubone.

Camilla's Seadra also went into the water.

Arcanine sat under the tree and closed its eyes, it was probably going to sleep.

Wigglytuff settled into Arcanine's fur and followed Arcanine in closing its eyes.

Fearow flew up into a tree and just perched itself there.

Leaf's Dewgong went into the water, like Blastoise and Seadra.

Hitmonchan sat under the tree with Dragonite and just rest.

Ivysaur sat in the meadow soaking up the sun.

Rapidash followed Dragonite and Hitmonchan's example.

Dodrio, sat on the outskirts of the trees shade, just in case it wanted a little sun too.

Tracey's Marill and Venonat sat on either side of him.

Scyther followed Fearow and sat in the branches of the tree.

Tracey was drawing the view that he was seeing now.

Leaf was on her Pokédex finding out as much as she could on these Pokémon that were native to Johto.

Camilla was lying down, her head on her back, she was looking up, probably thinking about something.

I closed my eyes and just thought about my next badge and how it could be.

I know that my previous three challenges had a task before, Cissy's was shooting down targets, which Blastoise did with ease, Danny's was climbing a mountain with no aid from any of my Pokémon and Rudy's was shooting targets on top of a pillar on a moving boat that accelerated every second that passed.

I almost didn't complete that challenge, Rudy's was the hardest. I remember that the last target wobbled on the edge before it fell in the water, it was deciding whether to stay on, or fall off.

Cissy's was easy for Blastoise, because he used hydro pump on the targets.

Danny's was harder because I had to climb a mountain with no aid, I'm just glad it wasn't too steep.

Now I had to worry about my next badge and the task I would have, and also what the challenge would be.

I might have a double battle as the challenge, it would help as I would already have the experience and it would be fresh on my mind, or it could be a normal battle, or it could be something completely different.

It would be good to not have a task to complete, to just go straight to the challenge, but that didn't seem like it was the way the Orange Island league did their gym battles.

I then wondered how the champion would be. I knew he would be strong, and I knew he would be experienced. I also knew he would be tougher than all the tasks and challenges I had taken on, but I wondered, if this was just a battle or if it was a challenge of some sort. I hoped it was a full six-on-six battle. I hadn't had one of those since Lorelei in the Pokémon league, officially. I didn't really have a six-on-six with Bruno, I had got to Aerodactyl and then it stopped once his primal instincts kicked in.

I was still worried about this last battle with the league champion, as I needed six Pokémon, at this present moment, I only had five. I needed to capture another one before we got to the league.

I didn't really fancy any of these Pokémon going up against the champion of the orange islands. I didn't really want a Pokémon that was native to Johto, I would wait until I got to Johto.

I opened my eyes and saw Leaf was helping a Sunflora catch its Sunkern, I knew the Sunflora would be grateful for the help.

Maybe Sunflora would let Leaf observe it and its Sunkern, that would be great for Leaf, it means she would learn more about Pokémon native to a region we hadn't even visited yet, but it may also be all for nothing, as the behaviours for Pokémon are always different, so they might act and be different in Johto to how they acted here.

I looked at the Pikachu and Cubone, Cubone was actually walking by itself, sure it stumbled, but the Pikachu were always there to catch it when it fell. And they helped it back up to continue walking.

Camilla would be proud that Cubone was finally getting some independence, soon it might even want to battle, that would be good, especially for Cubone as it would be Camilla's sixth Pokémon, she would have a full team then. I wondered if our Pikachu could help it learn how to fight, they helped it learn how to walk and soon it would be able to walk independently, now all it had to do was learn how to battle and it would be ready to take part in a competitive battle for its mother.

It would be hard for Camilla as she was Cubone's surrogate and any mother would be sad to see their young one grow up, even if you were a surrogate mother, but she would also be proud at how far Cubone had come and how much further he had to go.

I was proud when Dratini first jumped into battle and now it was a powerful Dragonite, extremely powerful. It was hard to think of Dragonite as a newly hatched Dratini, she had come so far since then, it was almost unfathomable, but I remember the day she hatched so clearly, then I remembered when she first battled and when she evolved into Dragonair and again when she evolved into Dragonite, she was a rare Pokémon and I was lucky to have her on my team, not many people had a Dragonite on their team, I only knew two other people who had a Dragonite. They were Alan Harris and Lance, the Kanto League champion.

And now Camilla could watch Cubone grow up.

'Cubone?' Camilla asked surprised.

Cubone turned around.

'You're walking.' She observed.

Camilla ran to Cubone as it agreed squealing in delight.

She picked it up and they embraced in a hug.

I didn't know how she'd take it, but she took it extremely well, she wasn't even worried about it growing up, she was too pleased with its accomplishment.

I looked at Leaf, she was sitting down in the flowers with a few Sunflora, a Natu or two perching on her, a Girafarig was sitting down beside her and a few Sunkern were in her arms. There were a few Hoppip hopping around her.

She had befriended so many Pokémon while I was watching Cubone and reminiscing about Dratini growing and evolving.

She could be like Melanie befriending Pokémon, but she would be making medicine though. I also knew that wasn't Leaf's dream, she wanted to complete the Pokédex and know everything about every Pokémon, she was obsessed with the information that she could collect, she was so informative in Celadon and it had only been a few days that I had seen her. It had been about a day that she'd had a Pokémon.

I knew that we wouldn't be able to stay here tonight, we didn't have a tent, we only had a sleeping bag, well Camilla and I did, I wasn't sure about Leaf and Tracey.

Once we reached Johto, I might have to get a tent, so I could actually camp outside.

We would have to leave soon, it was starting to turn into the afternoon.

'Guys, we should leave soon, especially, if we want to sleep in a Pokémon centre tonight.' I said.

'Yeah, who knows how long the next island is away from us.' Camilla agreed.

All four of us went around and returned our Pokémon, it was easy for Tracey, all of his Pokémon were in one place, and he only had three. Leaf and I had to go to the other side of the island, we also had to scour the water for our Pokémon, Camilla also had to look in the water.

My friends and I climbed aboard Blastoise and made our way to the next island.

I was glad that we visited this island. I had filled up more Pokémon in my Pokédex and they were all from Johto, but a bad thing was I still had less than Leaf.

'So Leaf did you find much about these Johto Pokémon?' I asked.

'Yeah.' She replied. 'But the Pokémon on this island are probably completely different to the ones on Johto, this place is so different, the way they act and the carefreeness they have here, whereas in Johto, they will be fighting every second they are threatened, here it's safe with no threats, but in Johto, there may be loads.' Leaf explained.

I saw Tracey was looking in his sketch book.

I didn't dare intrude, but he did look like he was concentrating, so it was best not to get involved.

Camilla looked at me with concern.

'What's up?' I asked.

'I don't know, something just seems off.' She replied.

Pikachu perked up its ears, as did Camilla's.

Cubone didn't seem as chirpy.

I now understood what Camilla meant, but didn't know how or what seemed off, I now felt something a huge weight, it was being put on my shoulders, like I had a huge responsibility I had no idea about. I saw the water around Blastoise was not as calm as it usually was it was choppier and was churning furiously.

The wind started to howl like it was threatening to whip something up.

I looked up and saw storm clouds rolling in towards us.

I remember something like this, when we were travelling to Cinnabar, we got washed onto the seafoam islands, and again when we made our way to where Mewtwo was. We had made it safely to that island.

I didn't know the outcome of this, but all my friends and I help onto Blastoise preparing for the worst.

 **Okay, so here is the last chapter of this year, and I will start the power of one movie arc next chapter, it will be three chapters long, just like my first movie arc, it is different, and so is the prophecy as it is not about Ash, I should get it up within the first half of January and the last one will be out at the end of January to early February, hope you like how I've put my own twist on it.**

 **Chapter Nineteen: Pokémon the Power of One: Part 1**


	19. Pokemon the Power of One: Part 1

**Disclaimer: I do not have any sort of rights to Pokémon.**

19\. Pokémon the Power of One: Part 1

 **Lawrence III's POV**

" _Disturb not the ones who harmonise together, the beast of the sea, tis he who holds the treasure._

This was the first line of the Prophecy I had heard and even though this line warned you not to disturb the three titans of fire, lightning and ice, they were essential to my collection. They would also help me retrieve the one I really came here for, the one they call the beast of the sea.

'Captain status report.' My inbuilt computer said.

'Yes.' I said as I sat in my chair which was on a platform that rose into the control room.

'The three islands of fire, lightning and ice are now in sight. They hold Moltres, Zapdos and Articuno.' The computer told me.

'Excellent.' I replied. 'Which one is the closest?' I asked.

'The fire island where Moltres resides.' The computer replied.

This is what the past ten years had led up to, they had led up to this moment, the moment when I will rule the seas.

'Let the collecting begin.' I said chuckling.

 **Jordan's POV**

Blastoise crash landed on a beach, my friends and I flew off and had probably suffered some injuries. My left arm hurt, and my friends were all groaning in pain. My Pikachu didn't seem too bad, he was still on my shoulder, but I knew he was still holding on for dear life, the shock of that storm had not overcome him yet.

I slowly stood up and returned Blastoise, I hoped there was a Pokémon centre on this island.

'Where did that storm come from?' Leaf asked coming to stand next to me, we both looked out at the sea and the churning waves.

I saw we had landed on a beach in an almost closed bay.

On one point of the bay was a lighthouse atop a hill its light rotating in the night to help ships dock in this bay.

This was not how I expected Kumquat island to look.

'This doesn't look like Kumquat.' I said.

'It's not.' Tracey replied standing on the opposite side of me to Leaf.

Camilla joined us on the opposite side of leaf to me.

'It was a freak storm, but I'm glad the danger is over.' Camilla replied.

'Uh, that might not be fully true.' Tracey said, we turned around and what we saw shocked us.

All of us turned and on higher ground was a group of creatures that had what looked like Tiki masks as faces. Instead of arms they had feathery wings hanging by their sides. They all had different bodies, some were feathery like their wings, others were leathery while others were woody, the last was the only one that confused me, but I was too shocked to think past confusion. The only thing that looked human were the feet, every single one of these creatures had human ankles and feet. They were all wearing sandals.

They all jumped onto the beach and slowly made their way towards, ticking, clicking and making various animal noises among murmurs.

My friends and I backed away as they came closer. I knew we couldn't go back any further when we reached the surf. I was afraid of what these creatures would do once they reached us.

'Stop!' A girl shouted.

I looked up where the creatures were a few seconds ago.

There was a girl.

This girl had long red hair that was split into two and fell to her back, she had a green hat that looked close to a shower hat, but it was woolly, she had blue sunglasses on. She had a non-sleeved pink t-shirt, she was also wearing blue jeans with a brown belt with a silver, oval, metal buckle. She had a small orange handbag strapped over her right shoulder falling just past her waist on her left side. She had her hips on her waist as if she was fed up of this.

The creatures had stopped their advance on us, was this girl in control of them?

'It would be nice if you could join us Melody.' A female voice from one of the creatures said.

My friends and I were shocked, just a while ago these creatures were making weird sounds and now one of them could speak the same language as us.

One of the creatures lifted its head off which we found out was a mask.

Underneath was a girl a little older than us, she had the same colour hair as the girl on the higher level, but it was cut short and spiked out at her shoulders. She had gold earrings that looked like a footprint, it had three toes. This girl had green eyes.

'And join in the boring festival?' The girl with sunglasses asked.

She took off her sunglasses and we saw she had blue eyes.

'It's childish and it's been going on for too long.' The girl with sunglasses replied.

'Sorry about my sister.' The girl who took her mask apologised to us.

My friends and I were still too shocked to reply.

A second person took off their mask, they had a small grey Mohawk and the same coloured moustache that went all the way across their face.

'Hello, welcome to Shamouti island, I am the elder of this island and festival coordinator, who are you?' The guy asked.

I finally got over my shock.

'My name is Jordan, this is my buddy Pikachu.' I said introducing myself and Pikachu.

'Pika, pikachu.' Pikachu said, he didn't sound even mildly surprised, not like I felt. I was also confused.

'I'm Ca…' Camilla started.

'You're a Pokémon trainer?' The girl who wore sunglasses asked jumping down from higher ground making her way toward us.

I knew Camilla was annoyed that this girl interrupted her.

'Yeah,' I replied. 'I am.'

There were murmurs between all of the creatures, they all took off their masks. Every single one of them was a human. This was all too confusing, was this how they always acted? The elder said say this was a festival, so maybe it was only for today.

'In that case.' The girl with sunglasses said still coming towards us. 'Since you are a trainer and you're probably the one in our prophecy, I shall present you with a gift.' The girl said.

Wait, what? One in what prophecy? A gift?

The girl was right next to me.

'Here is your welcome gift, oh chosen one.

She gave a quick kiss on the cheek.

I felt my face heat up, but it wasn't of jealousy, like when Rudy took a shine to Camilla, this was a different kind of heat.

'Come on chosen one, let us show you how we celebrate.' The girl said.

'Melody, why are you now so keen to join in the celebrations?' The girl who first took off her mask asked.

'Because we now have guests I can perform to.' Melody replied taking me by the arm and dragging me deeper into the island.

My friends followed behind me. The islanders followed behind them.

We came to a city not long after, but it wasn't like a regular city, all the buildings were huts with straw-thatched roofs. There was a pavilion with a straw-thatched roof but had no walls. In the centre of this pavilion was a fire pit, but above that it was open, so the pavilion didn't catch fire and burn to the ground, but I still didn't feel safe under it. Around the fire pit in random locations were sets of wooden tables and chairs.

At the back of the pavilion was a platform that was raised a couple inches higher than everywhere else.

On either side of the platform were two creatures with fire burning in their open mouths.

On the wall at the back of the platform was a large winged creature.

My friends and I were led to the table closest to the platform. Melody said she'd be back in a minute.

I looked around and the pavilion filled up pretty quickly, this was obviously a popular thing going on.

Melody came back a few minutes later in a change of clothes. She was wearing a cream dress that fell to her knees, at the bottom it was orange, the arms fell just short of her elbow, and the ends of them were also orange. She wore a lighter orange bandana, that covered her head so we couldn't see her hair besides the red that fell down her back. She was now wearing the same brown sandals as everyone else, but these sandals had a small oval blue gem on the front. Her orange bag was still slung over her shoulder.

She was clutching something in her hands, but I didn't want to mention it right now. I may find out about it later.

People came around with trays of food and set them on all the tables.

'Eat, chosen one and friends.' Melody said as she sat down on the same table as my friends and I.

I didn't protest and neither did my friends.

When the feast was over the elder stood up.

'Friends, we will now listen to the Festival Maiden and the song of the sea.' He said.

Melody got up and made her way to the platform, she took a blue object from her dress and started to blow in it, out came a beautiful tune, it was calm and relaxing, but it also felt harsh, just like the sea with its unpredictability.

When she finished, she did a little twirl and small dance before coming back to us.

Everyone applauded, but Melody ignored them.

She sat back at our table and put her instrument on the table.

'Disturb not the ones who harmonise together, the beast of the sea, tis he who holds the treasure. With lightning, fire and ice, the chosen one's downfall will be the price. Three orbs that hold the solution, stop this will the worlds pollution. The shrill sound blocking cry will be near, as the people of Shamouti cower in fear. _The chosen one will bring together all three, for the only one to tame the beast of the sea.' Melody recited._

This was a confusing prophecy. I didn't understand any line of this.

'Can you explain this please?' I asked.

'Disturb not the ones who harmonise together, this means that a number of creatures will only harmonise if they are kept apart.' Melody explained. 'The beast of the sea, tis he who holds the treasure, the beast of the sea is the only one who can calm these beasts if they do come together. With lightning, fire and ice, these are the creatures types, so now you know there are three. The chosen ones downfall will be the price, the chosen one will fall and this will make everything better. Three orbs hold the solution, there are three orbs, one for each of the creatures. Stop this will the worlds pollution, the world will be polluted if these three orbs are not together. The shrill sound blocking cry will be near, a ground shocking sound will over power everything else. As the people of Shamouti cower in fear, the islanders will fear the ground shocking cry. The chosen one will bring together all three, this means the orbs. For the only one to tame the beast of the sea, the chosen one will be able to tame the beast of the sea.' Melody explained.

I looked at Camilla.

'Could this be what Moltres talked about?' Camilla asked.

'Maybe.' I replied.

'How many chosen ones are in this prophecy?' I asked Melody.

'Just one.' Melody replied as if that was obvious.

Maybe this wasn't the prophecy that Moltres was talking about.

'This prophecy seems dangerous.' I said. 'I mean I have to collect three orbs and have them at the same place at the same time.' I continued.

'Its just a legend, it's not real, plus I have two of the three orbs anyway.' Melody said. She opened her orange bag and showed me a blue orb and a red orb

'Where's the last orb?' I asked.

'On Lightning island.' Melody replied.

I had to go to lightning island and get the last orb and make it back to Melody and then that would stop the pollution of the world and be the solution of the prophecy. A prophecy that was just a legend. So, this shouldn't be difficult at all, it should be easy, the only thing that would repel me from completing this prophecy would be the weather and elements.

'What am I waiting for?' I asked standing up abruptly.

My friends didn't seem surprised at my outburst.

'Whoa!' Melody started. 'You can start tomorrow morning, you don't have to do it now, tonight you relax and enjoy the festival.' She said sitting me back down again

'No.' I said, standing back up. 'I have a world to save and the world will be worse off tomorrow if I don't start now.' I replied.

Melody looked surprised, she looked to my friends, but they didn't say anything, they knew it was no use in talking me out of this.

'Ready bud?' I asked Pikachu as soon as he jumped on my shoulder.

'Pika!' He replied in determination.

'If you are that eager, I'll go and find a sailor who is crazy enough to sail a boat in this weather.' Melody said making her way around the pavilion looking for a sailor.

The storm hadn't got any worse, but it was still a howling rage, especially in the sea.

'You sure you're okay to do this, Jordan?' Camilla asked me.

'Just a legend, Camilla.' I replied.

'So why are you so eager to complete this now?' she asked.

'I can see you're uncomfortable with Melody, so the quicker I do this, the quicker we can leave.' I said. Camilla blushed at that.

'You're leaving?' I heard a voice behind me.

I turned around in surprise.

The elder was standing in front of me.

'He is, but to find the last orb.' Leaf said saving me.

'Wow, an eager chosen one. I like it.' He said. 'Well good luck chosen one.' He continued before he walked away.

Melody was walking back toward us.

'The sailor will wait on the beach for you, come with me and you can place these two orbs where they're meant to go before you go and collect the third one.'

Melody led us to a hill which had stairs that went the whole way around.

Once we got to the top there were seven stone columns with a wheel shaped stone on top of each, in the middle of the area where the columns stood was a slab with ancient text written on it, above the slab was a rectangular opening which had three places that would hold spherical orbs perfectly.

I looked through the rectangular opening and saw three islands in the distance, each one a different shape, but they all looked the same size.

Melody handed me the red orb, it looked like it had an orange flame burning brightly in it.

'The fire orb.' Melody said.

I placed the fire orb in the left most hold and it started to glow slightly before the light died down and disappeared.

'The ice orb.' Melody said handing me the second orb. It was blue and had a pulsating pale blue snowflake in it.

I placed this orb on the right most hold. This one also glowed like the fire orb, but also died down after a few seconds.

'The lightning orb will be on that island.' Melody said pointing to the island that was in the middle.

It was taller than the other two, it looked like it had a steep mountain on it.

'You ready bud?' I asked Pikachu.

'Pika.' Pikachu said. He was ready when I first asked him, I was making sure he was as ready as I was.

'Wish me luck.' I said to my friends before I ran toward the beach to catch a boat to the middle island.

The sailor was waiting for me.

He had a greying beard and a sailor hat on, he had a navy-blue buttoned jacket on.

'You Jordan?' He asked me.

I nodded, he wasn't very cheery or talkative like the other sailors I travelled with, he seemed like he was monotone. I guessed he wasn't one to talk about the festival or anything related to Shamouti, or the legend.

The boat ride was pretty boring, it was long and cold, the waves didn't make it easy for us to go in the right direction, the amount of force they had on the boat made us rock wildly against the waves making it harder to keep going in one general direction. The sailor looked like he was concentrating hard to keep us from straying too far away from our destination.

Pikachu and I stood against the railing always keeping our eyes on lightning island.

I wondered how it would be when I got there. The island didn't look big from where I was, but I'm sure if the lightning orb was not in a specific place it would take ages to find it.

I saw that from the sky snow fell. I'm no native to the orange islands, but apparently it was a tropical place, and it never snows in hot tropical places like this, so this was definitely concerning. I wondered why it was snowing here.

The sailor looked quite confused also so I knew it wasn't a regular occurrence.

'This is something I've never seen before!' He yelled from inside.

I knew that the weather was unpredictable, but snowing in the tropics, that was too far. Sure, it was a little chilly, but surely it wasn't cold enough to snow, right?

The storm was starting to worsen, so much so I saw massive waves over ten times my size crashing into shallower water.

I made my way inside with the sailor, better to be safe than out there where I could get killed.

'You're the chosen one for this year?' The sailor asked me.

'I guess.' I replied.

'A little young, aren't you?' The sailor asked.

'Melody picked me.' I replied.

'Carol's younger sister.' The sailor said.

The waves kept getting rougher, the ship jerked sideways, and we were engulfed in a wave a few seconds later. I fell over from the sudden movement.

The sailor smiled before his face became serious as he tried to steady us.

I knew Blastoise would excel at swimming, but even in these rough waters I knew he would have trouble.

'Get ready for a rough landing chosen one.' The sailor said.

I was about to ask what he meant when I heard the boat make a crashing sound before small stones bounced around us

I saw a few huge rocks go past us before we came to an abrupt stop.

'Where are we?' I asked as I slowly got up.

'Lightning island.' The sailor said.

I stepped out and onto the outside of the boat and saw a huge mountain towering over me.

I guessed that the orb was up there, as much as I wished it wasn't.

I jumped off the boat and landed on the gravel beach.

I saw the front of the boat was embedded into a boulder, there was no way to get off this island now, I would have to find a different way to get all the orbs together now.

Pikachu jumped off my shoulder and ran toward some stairs that led toward the mountain.

'Pikachu, wait!' I called as I ran after him.

I ran up the stairs after him, the stairs weren't steep. I looked ahead, but I didn't see very far as the steps had twists and turns up ahead.

I tried to keep up with Pikachu, but he easily made his way up the steps whereas I found it a little more difficult. It was a lot of stairs and there was no way I would be able to keep up with Pikachu the whole way to the top.

I became tired as I reached-what I guessed as-the halfway point of the stairs.

I kept my pace the same, I couldn't slow down, not now.

I had to take care of this prophecy, it all seemed like a legend before the snow fell, now it was becoming strange a little more realistic, getting the orbs together, that was part of the prophecy whether it was true or not, but the three creatures of lightning fire and ice, I didn't know whether to believe that or not. Most of it seemed like it was a bit of a jumbled up myth, something to entertain tourists, like my friends and I, but not only was I a tourist, I was picked to be the chosen one, the one that completes the prophecy, and not only were there three creatures, there was a fourth one that I was somehow supposed to tame also. Also, another part of the prophecy rang in my head. " _stop this will the worlds pollution."_ This seemed like the snow in the tropics of the orange islands, the snow was polluting a warm place and only the orbs will be able to stop it. It seemed pretty far-fetched that the orbs were the way to stop the snow from falling around us, I doubted that was the answer, but I had to try, and I didn't see any other way to do it. This prophecy was supposed to be a legend, a myth, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense to me.

I slowed down to a walk, my breathing became shallower, not was I only worn out, but I was cold now, as we gained altitude the temperature dropped, and it didn't help with the falling snow that was beginning to stick. If it snowed for much longer it would cover these steps and climbing them would become deadly as well as impossible. I couldn't stop though, the fate of the orange islands, no the world was resting on my shoulders, just like it had so many times before.

One more recent than the rest. I had saved the world from no grapefruit by halting Snorlax's intake from the grapefruit isles, the only way to stop it was to weaken it and capture it, which is exactly what I did.

I found Pikachu waiting patiently at the top, he saw me moving slowly.

'Pika!' He shouted to me pointing to something I couldn't see, I eventually made my way to where he was and what I saw was something I had only seen once before, even the second time it was still a sight to behold.

I had found the legendary Pokémon Zapdos.

I now knew that the lightning creature was none other than Zapdos. I took out my Pokédex, I couldn't miss scanning it the second time.

' _Zapdos, the electric Pokémon. Zapdos is a legendary bird Pokémon that has the ability to control electricity. It usually lives in thunderclouds. This Pokémon gains power if it is stricken by lightning bolts.'_ My Pokédex recorded.

I now finally had all three legendary birds recorded in my Pokédex, that was three more than Leaf, she would be really jealous about that.

Then it clocked.

Lightning, fire and ice.

Zapdos, Moltres and Articuno. The three legendary birds were the creatures that cannot harmonise together.

The legendary creature that told me about a prophecy was part of one themselves, but not the same one.

Melody said that if these three Pokémon were kept apart there would be harmony, so I guessed if they were together there would be destruction and only having the three orbs together and taming the beast of the sea could quench the destruction and bring back the harmony and peace.

I saw Zapdos at the moment was asleep and that was good, especially if I was going to receive that orb, which was next to it on a pedestal. This was going to be harder than I originally, not only did I have to get the orb, but I had to sneak past a sleeping legendary Pokémon in the middle of a storm. This is a place that Zapdos loved and if it woke up, I would most likely die. Yes, it was good that it was asleep, but bad that we were in the middle of a storm.

Pikachu was sitting there looking at me.

I was thinking and I assured him by showing him my outstretched arm toward him, asking him he could let me think how to do this carefully.

I wondered if Articuno and Moltres were sleeping peacefully on their islands, or if they were both where I met them, on the seafoam islands and in victory road, I wondered why Zapdos was not at the power plant in Kanto, did it have other business here that it had to attend to? Something that was more important, like taking the orb and placing it where I was told.

Did the natives of Shamouti know about this? Did they send me on a quest that they knew was impossible? Did they know that retrieving the orb from Zapdos was impossible because it was guarding it? If that was the case, why did they send me? I did tell them I was a Pokémon trainer, maybe that was what they needed a Pokémon trainer, because my Pokémon could protect me, and they didn't have any to protect them. They were making me do something that was insanely impossible for them.

'Pika?' Pikachu asked as I took a hesitant step toward Zapdos.

'It's okay bud.' I reassured him. 'I have a plan.' I lied.

Of course I was improvising, and Pikachu knew I was lying, he knew me too well, but I knew that he would go along with me anyway. He was my best friend and I could count on him with everything, he would be with me every step of the way.

'Jordan?' I heard someone ask behind me.

I saw Camilla, Tracey and Leaf were right behind her with Melody trailing at the back.

'Zapdos.' Leaf said in awe.

Tracey took out his sketchpad to get a drawing of this creature before I could get the orb.

'Camilla?' I asked.

'What are you guys doing here?' I asked.

Melody stepped forward standing next to Camilla.

'Camilla was worried about you, as soon as it started to snow. We came out looking for you.' She told me.

'What if with this many people here wakes up Zapdos?' I asked.

'Umm…' Tracey started, almost dropping his pencil and pad.

He pointed behind me.

Zapdos had its eyes open and I swear it tore its way directly to my soul.

I looked at the electricity around its wings and I saw Pikachu was in its battle stance and electricity was crackling its way around its pouched cheeks.

I knew they were communicating, Pikachu was probably telling Zapdos that our intentions were good but wasn't having any luck convincing the Pokémon of lightning.

I heard a huge whirring sound from above.

This distracted everyone, including Zapdos.

I didn't know what it was, but I rushed toward Zapdos, making a break for the orb.

While its attention was taken by something else, I had to complete this prophecy, I couldn't let anything stop me, one problem at a time.

Zapdos flew up, and that was exactly what I needed. I grabbed the orb from the pedestal, but had trouble taking it away. It was like it was stuck there, like it had been glued with everlasting glue.

Pikachu grabbed my trouser leg and proceeded to help me. It wasn't doing much, but I appreciated the help.

I felt my friends right behind me, they grabbed on to me and helped me to pry the orb away from its resting place.

Of course, this was proving impossible, I was just one unsolvable problem after the other, but not only was this a problem, this was a problem that had to be solved to fulfil a prophecy that was thought to be legend.

The whirring sound grew louder, and I heard the cries of Zapdos.

I was momentarily distracted by the whirring sound. I looked up and I saw grey blades the same length of a helicopters, they were spinning slower than a helicopter. They created a massive circle when the blades were almost touching, the circle was around the size of one of these three islands. The blades were held by long poles. In the middle of the circle was a small spire which led to a room which was around the size of my bedroom back at home. There was a light on inside so I couldn't see inside it. On top of the room was a larger room that was about the size of Shamouti's pavilion, it was the bottom half of a sphere. I'm sure there was more of this, whatever it was, but I could not see past the clouds, and I couldn't imagine anything that could have been anything close to what I was currently looking at.

That was the thing that was making the whirring sounds, it was also what Zapdos was flying towards, there was something in that direction that Zapdos wanted more than the orb.

The prophecy rang inside my head, all of it, some of it had now come true.

" _Disturb not the ones who harmonise together, the beast of the sea, tis he who holds the treasure._

 _With lightning fire and ice, the chosen one's downfall will be the price._

 _Three orbs that hold the solution, stop this will the worlds pollution._

 _The shrill sound blocking cry will be near, as the people of Shamouti cower in fear._

 _The chosen one will bring together all three, for the only one to tame the beast of the sea."_

" _Disturb not the ones who harmonise together."_ Zapdos was attacking a ship that had Articuno and Moltres on it, so all three were now together.

How did Articuno and Moltres get captured? And a more disturbing question. Who captured them?

Was this Villain going to capture Zapdos also, that would destroy the prophecy and I would have failed my role as the chosen one.

I looked up at the ship and wished why it had to be me, why was I the one who had to save the world?

'Jordan?' I heard a familiar voice say behind me.

My friends and I all turned to see a horror-stricken familiar face.

They had a midnight blue hat with an impeccable unkempt black feather on it hanging on their right hand.

'Uncle?' I asked.

 **So, here is Part one of the movie arc, I tried to keep on the general path of the movie but strayed away a bit. Hope you guys don't mind too much. Riley has made his appearance in the movie arc, I did mention his appearance in one of the dreams that Jordan had. Hope you enjoy this little cliff-hanger. Next chapter will be part two of the arc and will be up almost immediately after this one. Hope you guys enjoy it.**

 **Chapter Twenty: Pokémon the Power of One-Part Two**


	20. Pokemon the Power of One: Part 2

**Disclaimer: Do I really have to keep saying I don't own Pokémon; you guys know I don't, right?**

20\. Pokémon the Power of One: Part Two

'Riley?' Every one of my friends asked in unison.

Why was my uncle here? How was he here? What was he doing here?

The horror left his face and confusion replaced it.

'What are you doing here?' I asked.

'I could ask you the same question.' Riley replied.

There was no reason I shouldn't tell him, I mean he might be able to help or want to listen to what had happened since we last met.

'Jordan, is the chosen one of this year's festival and the one in the prophecy.' Melody told my uncle.

'Festival, prophecy?' Riley asked.

Maybe it was best I didn't tell him what had happened since we last met.

'The natives of Shamouti island hold a festival every year to celebrate the creatures of lightning, fire and ice.' Melody said.

'Zapdos, Moltres and Articuno.' I added.

'Okay, so what's this Prophecy?' Riley asked.

 _'Disturb not the ones who harmonise together, the beast of the sea, tis he who holds the treasure._ _With lightning fire and ice, the chosen one's downfall will be the price._ _Three orbs that hold the solution, stop this will the worlds pollution._ _The shrill sound blocking cry will be near, as the people of Shamouti cower in fear._ _The chosen one will bring together all three, for the only one to tame the beast of the sea.' I recited knowing the whole prophecy from memory._

'That sounds like a huge weight on your shoulders, Jordan.' Riley said.

It didn't when I first heard it, especially since Melody said it was just a task of getting three orbs and placing them back on Shamouti, but now a few parts of the prophecy had come true. Also this last orb was hard to get out from where it was, like it was frozen in place.

'You seem to be having difficulty.' Riley kind of stated.

Did he see us trying to pry the orb away from its place?

'Yes.' I said.

'I'll help you in any way I can.' Riley said.

'Can you help us get the orb?' I asked.

Riley walked past us up to the pedestal.

He took hold of the orb and lifted it away.

I looked at him in shock, he took it off like it wasn't a problem for him. I didn't understand how it looked so easy for him.

'Here.' Riley said giving me the last orb.

I took it from him still shocked how he took it off so easily.

'Thanks.' I said, the way he took it off so easily was so hard to comprehend because it took five of us and we still couldn't pull the orb off, that meant Riley was over five times stronger than each of us.

I looked to my friends, they were also in shock.

Before anything else happened, I saw two silver rings come toward us, they enclosed us and a blue electric forcefield created a sphere around them, so we couldn't escape.

All of us were lifted in the air in this orb and towards the direction of where Zapdos was, supposedly.

I couldn't see anything when we made our way through the clouds, but we came out and I could see the helicopter blades rotating all around us. Above us were concrete blocks that held a tower that was wide at the base before it got narrower then it got wider before becoming half a sphere, the same one I saw earlier when Zapdos flew towards it. The poles that held the helicopter like blades were on what looked like the framing 0of a crane, but it was dark red and made a circle around us, it also had the frame towards the side of the concrete blocks at every helicopter blade pole. The concrete blocks made a cylinder, but it was wide, and I guess you could fit the whole population of Saffron, Fuchsia and Viridian in there easily.

The sphere we were trapped in went in between the tower and the concrete blocks that made up the cylinder.

For a few seconds all I could see around us was pitch black.

We came to a room that I guessed was the inside of the concrete blocked cylinder.

The floor was purple marble, there were cream columns all around the edge of the room, but glass was in between each column, so I guessed they were windows and it seemed like the only way to escape was from where we came in, I didn't exactly like that way in or out.

There was another electric about ten metres from where we were now situated which was near a glass window. It this other electric sphere was the legendary Pokémon Moltres.

'Moltres?' Camilla and I exclaimed in unison.

It opened one of its eyes at us.

'Jordan Hale and Camilla Brook.' Moltres said, using Camilla's real name. Even though Moltres was inside an electric sphere and looked like it was in pain, its voice didn't break, so I guessed it was just enclosed in a space, much like a creature in an enclosure.

Camilla looked surprised, Moltres knew Camilla's last name. I was shocked, but not as much as Camilla.

'Moltres.' I said.

'Jordan?' Riley asked in surprise. 'Camilla?' Riley asked in the same tone. 'You can both talk to Moltres?' He asked.

We both nodded at the same time.

That conversation stopped because we heard a sound like a robot moving its arm.

In the middle of the room was a set of stairs in a circle. It led up to a platform that had a metal pole that went the whole way up the ceiling.

A small platform was lowered on the pole.

On the platform was a concrete seat lined with purple padded material. In the chair was a man. He looked confused at us being here. He was expecting something else.

This guy was wearing a massive lab coat the fell to just above his ankles. It was light blue around the back and the front, but the blue was separated by a very dark purple vertical part of the coat. There was a gold emblem at the very top of his chest on the coats "v" with a small turquoise underneath it.

The collar was upturned and was lined with red. This mad had a chiselled face. His eyes were narrow and a strange violet colour. His hair was a murky green. At each side it was spiked up, like he was kind of representing the devil. He was well on the way to that direction, especially when he had captured Moltres and I guessed he was trying to catch Zapdos.

'Disturb not the ones who harmonise together.' This man recited the first line of the prophecy. 'The beast of the sea.' He continued. The man pushed a button on his chair.

The electric forcefield vanished and the rings fell to the floor.

This man then stood up and slowly made his way towards my friends and me.

'Do you know which four Pokémon this line is referring to.

I knew of three.

They were the legendary birds. I didn't know who this beast of the sea was, and I didn't know it this guy knew, but he seemed like he knew the eventual outcome of the prophecy.

'Moltres, Zapdos and Articuno.' Leaf said.

I knew Leaf would be confident to speak to this man, in a way they were similar, they both liked knowing a lot about Pokémon. Leaf would be the most confident if Camilla and I were not here.

I didn't know how Melody was around strangers, Tracey wasn't a big talker, so I don't think he would say too much.

'Very good, but do you know the fourth Pokémon?' This man asked.

'Lawrence!' Melody exclaimed.

The man looked halted his advance on us, his expression was full of shock before regaining his composure and smiling.

'Melody, nice to see you again.' He said.

Melody knew this guy, and he knew her?

Well this day was full of unexpected experiences.

One: A storm crashed Blastoise and my friends onto and island we didn't mean to come to. Two: Shamouti held a festival. Three: I was the chosen one of a legendary prophecy. Four: I made my to lightning island to collect an orb. Five: It started to snow in the most tropical place I know of. Six: My uncle showed up out of nowhere. Seven: We were captured by this Lawrence guy. Eight: Riley knows Camilla and I can communicate with Moltres. Nine: Melody and this Lawrence guy know each other.

'The last time I saw you, you were starting to walk.' Lawrence continued.

'I was practicing to dance.' Melody retorted.

Lawrence turned away from us toward his chair but made no incline to move.

'If that's what you call it.' Lawrence mumbled almost inaudibly.

Melody couldn't hear it, but I was just able to make it out.

'What was that?' Melody asked.

'Right, dancing, that's what I meant.' Lawrence said as if he didn't mumble something completely different.

'Is this guy a resident of Shamouti?' Tracey asked.

'Was.' Lawrence said turning back to us and taking three more steps toward us.

'He was like my uncle before he left after hearing the whole prophecy. He believed he was the chosen one, he hasn't been seen for two years now.' Melody explained.

'And I have made immeasurable progress.' Lawrence replied. 'And tonight is the night I complete the prophecy.' He continued.

I didn't have time for this guy, he had to capture both Articuno and Zapdos before anything else would happen.

I turned back toward Moltres.

' _Moltres.'_ I said.

It opened its eye to look at me.

' _Jordan Hale, Camilla Brook.'_ Moltres said. _'You need to complete this prophecy, once you do, I will tell you more about the great prophecy that includes you both.'_ Moltres said.

Riley looked at us and Moltres in complete shock.

'We'll talk about this later.' Riley mouthed at Camilla and me. I had a feeling that was going to be a difficult conversation.

'Zapdos cannot keep its attacks up forever, and once it has worn itself out, I will capture it and I will only have Articuno to capture, that should be easy, it will practically want to be in here with Moltres and Zapdos, then the beast of the sea will reveal itself to me, and I will tame it, as is said in the prophecy.' Lawrence explained his plan.

' _For the only one to tame the beast of the sea.' I recited, that part of the prophecy._

The prophecy had now become more complete.

Disturb not the ones who harmonise together. I now knew that this meant when they were asleep on their own island. Lawrence had woken them up and now they were disturbed. The beast of the sea, Lawrence knew who this was, but didn't tell us. I was sure that Riley also knew, Melody probably had a hunch, but I had no idea. Tis he who holds the treasure, this was probably what Lawrence was working his way towards, that was probably why he wanted the beast of the sea to show itself. With lightning fire and Ice, with Zapdos, Moltres and Articuno. The chosen ones downfall will be the price, depending on whether Lawrence or I was the chosen one of us would fail and this would complete the prophecy. Three orbs that hold the solution, the Fire and Ice orb that Melody had possession of and the lightning orb that was in my hand still. Stop this will the worlds pollution, putting these orbs in the right place would stop the strange weather patterns. The shrill sound blocking cry will be near, this sound would probably be made by the beast of the sea, to signal that it was coming to quench something. As the people of Shamouti cower in fear, I thought this was originally from the cry, but now I knew they were hiding in their houses from the snow to stay warm and safe. The chosen one will bring together all three, that meant either me or Lawrence, at the moment it seemed like Lawrence guy. For the only one to tame the beast of the sea, that also meant Lawrence or myself was going to tame the last Pokémon, and we would help quench this disastrous event.

There was still a lot to happen and I didn't know what the next thing to happen was, but I knew one thing. Us accidentally bringing to orbs all together was helping Lawrence in capturing the three legendary birds.

'Correct, and that chosen one is me.' Lawrence said.

'No it's not.' Camilla replied with confidence.

'Oh really?' Lawrence asked. 'Then why don't you enlighten me and tell me who you believe to be the chosen one?' Lawrence asked.

'Jordan is.' Tracey replied.

'And is this Jordan here?' Lawrence asked.

'He's right here.' Leaf said putting her hand on my shoulder.

Lawrence walked towards me and got in close, so our faces were inches apart.

He looked into my eyes and I looked back into his, he was trying to intimidate me, but he didn't seem so powerful, his motives were negative, so I knew how to make him look away first. I would show him that I meant business. I intensified my glare.

Lawrence blinked and backed away.

I had definitely made an impact.

'He doesn't seem like chosen one material.' Lawrence said walking back to his chair.

He sat down.

He had definitely felt something when I intensified my glare.

He was showing weakness without him knowing. His sitting down was the best way to conceal his weakness. It was also showing that he was weak, and he didn't stay looking at me, so he felt a little threatened.

'Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a prophecy to fulfil.' Lawrence said before he pressed a button on his chair, and it was whisked up.

I looked around the room. I saw a huge slab of rock and went towards it.

Camilla was right behind me, Riley followed her. Leaf, Melody and Tracey followed suit.

I looked at the ancient text and discovered I could read it.

'The beasts of lightning, fire and ice are said to control phenomenal power together. There is said to be one treasure that can quench the fighting between these three. The beast of the sea will warp and become violent when the treasure comes to resolve the fight these three start. Lugia, the treasure of the Orange islands will show itself when the battle brings all together. The beast can only be tamed by the treasure.' I said.

'How can you read this?' Riley asked.

'I can read it too.' Camilla said coming up next to me.

'Wait a second.' Tracey said. 'The treasure is this Lugia?' He asked. 'So who is this beast you are prophesised to tame?' He asked.

'Or as this ancient text says, you are not the one who tames this beast of the sea, it instead Lugia.' Leaf reminded us.

I didn't understand. If Lugia was going to tame the beast of the sea, who was this beast of the sea that is prophesised to quench the legendary birds fighting? The prophecy and this ancient text kind of outbalanced each other, one told one story and the other told a story that was different.

I saw the ancient text shift and instead it now said something different.

'Jordan Hale, you are the chosen one and you will tame the treasure of the sea and help Lugia complete the prophecy.' Camilla said.

'What?' Melody asked.

'The text changed,' I explained.

I saw my uncle was deep in thought, he had an idea, this was the look most adults had, and I hated it when they had that look upon their faces, they know something I wanted badly to know, but they wouldn't tell me, they were going to let me figure it out for myself.

I looked back to Moltres.

' _Please help me figure this out?'_ I asked Moltres.

I just hoped that my uncle couldn't hear me speaking to Moltres.

' _You are the chosen one, Jordan Hale. You do not need my help, you will figure this out on your own, rely on your friends.'_ Moltres told me.

So, even Moltres wasn't going to help me. Great, what was I supposed to do now?

' _We'll help you get through this.'_ Camilla said. I knew Camilla meant her Pokémon, mine and herself, she was set on both of us being the chosen one. She didn't like Melody being right, so she was going to help me as much as she possibly could.

She wasn't singling us out from our friends, they would help too, but I had known Camilla the longest, I trusted her the most.

I knew we had to do something to let Moltres out of its cage, we couldn't let it stay in there, but then Zapdos and Moltres would fight as soon as we let Moltres free. It was inevitable. We had to free Moltres, the prophecy had already unfolded a bit, but it needed to be completed before morning came around.

'We need to let Moltres free guys.' I said.

I let out all my Pokémon, Camilla, Leaf and Tracey followed.

We all asked our Pokémon to attack the forcefield around Moltres.

Before any of them could launch an attack, we heard a screech and in came a second electric forcefield, we found out Zapdos had now been captured.

This was not good, it wouldn't be too long now until Lawrence had caught Articuno also.

We had to free Moltres and Zapdos before it was too late.

We all issued attacks toward Moltres once again.

It didn't take much with all of us attacking, in a few seconds Moltres was free.

We were about to turn toward Zapdos and do the same but Moltres beat us to it, it attacked the cage that Zapdos was in and before we knew it Zapdos was also free.

As soon as Zapdos was free, he and Moltres soared across the room launching attacks at each other.

I recalled back all my Pokémon before they got hurt and ran to one side of the room, it was the best place to be to stop from getting hit by fire or electricity. There was nowhere to escape to in this room in times of crisis like this. All of us huddled in a corner, if we were separated and one of us got hit it might have been worse.

At least Articuno wasn't in here with us that would have been catastrophic, most of the room would be frozen.

Moltres fired an attack and a few metres to our right a massive hole was made in the window.

Moltres flew out with Zapdos quickly in tow.

Now we had a way to escape.

We made our way out of the large flying ship and we had no where to go, we didn't have enough flying Pokémon for all us to get off in one trip. I didn't want anyone to stay behind and risk getting hurt, we had to find another way of getting down from here.

I saw Moltres and Zapdos still firing at each other, what was worse was that I saw Articuno flying after them, this was not good, not at all.

Lawrence probably knew something was up, he was either in a happy mood because soon he would see Lugia, or he would be in a bad mood because Zapdos and Moltres were free.

'Can you two explain to me how you talked to Moltres?' Riley asked.

I thought Riley would have suspected this, but he seemed as confused as everyone else did before I told them I had aura.

It was becoming a little too repetitive, but I guess my uncle deserved an explanation. He was entitled to know as much about this as others did, I had told a few trainers I barely knew before my uncle and that was a little unfair.

Riley deserved to know more that anyone else, he was technically family.

I wondered if my dad had told him. I'm sure my dad would know, or was he like Riley, I should have really told my dad when I had the chance when I saw him before the Pokémon league, or after that.

Or was it that my dad had aura too, if that was the case shouldn't he have sensed mine and told me about it.

'Camilla and I have some sort of psychic powers.' I told Riley.

He didn't look surprised.

'And do you know the name of this psychic power?' Riley asked.

'We have different psychic powers.' Camilla told him.

This did catch Riley off guard.

'Different?' Riley asked. 'I only know of one, your dad told me about it.' Riley said to me. 'There are two now?' Riley asked. 'Okay, could you please tell me the names of these powers?' Riley asked.

'Mine is…'

Suddenly, the ship jerked stopping me mid-sentence, and I saw the rotors slow down below us, the ship started to fall. I saw ground beneath us, this wasn't going to be a pleasant landing.

This would definitely hurt.

I would have saved my friends somehow if there was time, but before I knew it the ship hit the ground with a huge crash.

Before any of us could comprehend the event that happened we were thrown from the ship, in various directions my vision darkened on hitting the ground before I slipped into unconsciousness.

 _I was standing in a small open space. I was high above the ground and I saw many people below._

 _Around me were stone columns, the held up a pyramid shaped roof._

 _In the middle of this space was a large bronze bell. It hadn't rung for a while a good few hours now and the reason was because of the Pokémon that had stopped us from doing anything, the Pokémon that had sucked the fun out of this town, it was just silly._

 _Before this event, this town was a happy bustling place, but now everyone seemed like zombies, they shuffled around under the dark sky._

 _The sky didn't look that way before it was bright and sunny, now it was dark with a purply-pink haziness to it, it looked like it was pink lightning streaking across the sky and the lightning was constantly pulsating, it was like we were in an alternate dimension, a bad one._

 _Again, I was the one who wanted to make things back the way they were, but this time I had no clue where to begin, I had no way to stop this sky from staying that way forever._

 _I'm sure if we were on the other side of the bridge then this wouldn't have happened, and we would be fine. In a place where all was well, and we didn't have to worry about saving the world. Whenever the world was in a crisis, it always seemed to have me involved to fix the problem, no I wasn't always the epicentre of the saving, but I at least helped every time someone saved the world, I had saved the world a few times also._

 _I looked behind me and two familiar faces appeared, some good news I hoped._

 _The scene shifted._

 _I was standing on a beach looking at the saves softly hitting the sand, nothing was a peaceful as this, after a day of endless work and some hard labour it was nice to just take it easy for a while._

 _I would never have imagined something that hard to deal with. I imagined it would have been easier even just a little, but the challenges I faced proved to be difficult. Sure I had done something like that in the past, something that was difficult for me, but it seemed so long ago. I forgot how difficult it actually was._

 _I laid down leaning up on my elbows, soaking in the sun._

 _I probably could have rested forever, but I knew I needed to get back to my journey, I still had may places I wanted to explore, and the Pokémon league was the destination. I had to make it there and conquer that._

 _Suddenly, I caught a glimpse of a figure on four legs running across the water, it was heading toward us. I thought that this couldn't be happening again, could it, it had been three times now._

 _Sometimes my luck was bad, and sometimes- like this for instance-it was great._

 _This was said to be a once in a lifetime experience, but this was my third time._

 _Soon he was upon us._

 _The first time he was majestic, and it was magnificent to see him, we only saw him for a few seconds, but it was still a sight to behold. The second time it was breath taking, We, saw him for longer, but he wasn't alone the second time, there were two others with him. This time didn't seem any different, it was a spectacular, and once again he was alone._

 _I didn't know if these encounters were just by chance, or if they were fate._

 _But there he was once again, the legendary Pokémon, Suicune._

 _The scene again shifted._

 _I walked up the wooden stairs, they creaked as I stepped on them, they seemed old and I was worried that one may snap upon the pressure I put on it. I was being extremely cautious._

 _There were a lot of stairs in this tower, but I couldn't imagine all the stairs that would have been in the old tower, it was said to be taller and a lot grander, but no-one who was around now could tell you for sure how it was, it was just a legend, but so was this, what I was doing was not something I would have imagined doing, not ever._

 _I was told that I was the one to do it, to climb the tower and something would be at the top waiting for me, but I didn't know what it was. I was only told riddles and I didn't want to hear any more. I just wish people would stop with the riddles and just give me a straight answer._

 _I saw a trapdoor a few meters above my head, this was it, this was the top of the tower, I was going to see something special once I opened this trapdoor._

 _I pushed it open and what I saw did stun me, but not in the way I thought, it was a room full of bits of wood sticking up trough the floor, it was like a maze I had to navigate. I saw a ladder on the opposite side of the room, that was my destination, but I had to weave through these first._

 _The scene shifted once again._

 _This was despicable, sure I knew people who had done bad before, but this was just as bad, it wasn't evil, just bad._

 _They stole a book, a book that gave them answers, a book that solved their intentions problems. And what this book was full of was other mysteries to other various legends._

 _If they managed to complete this diabolical plan then who's to say they would go onto the next legend and the one after that, excreta. They had to be stopped before they continued with any more plans._

 _This girl seemed a little cold towards me, but I was offering to help her, the least she could do was at least try and get along with me. She said she didn't trust anyone because this was a secret place and I wasn't supposed to just stumble across it, but I was just walking, and I managed to fall into a fountain and come out somewhere else._

 _It was just typical of me to find myself in these sorts of situations. It's like I couldn't catch a break._

 _The scene shifted once more._

 _I was looking into blue eyes, but I didn't recognize the person behind them, it was like they had been erased from my mind, like all recollection of anything that we did was gone. I knew we had done things together, that much was clear, but between meeting them and now was all a blank._

 _It wasn't like me to forget, this person was important, and we had been best friends, but I don't remember anything we had done. I knew there was a blank in the middle, but it was like I had met this person only a few minutes prior._

 _There was also something else that was missing, it was important, but I didn't know what it was._

 _I looked out to the vast open grassland and wondered what laid beyond that, and then beyond that, what was waiting in that big wide world. I was yearning to explore, but I had been here my whole life, ever since I can remember I had lived here._

 _Why did I yearn for adventure, the mysteries that lay beyond the horizon intrigued me, but I didn't want to know what was at the horizon. I wanted to explore beyond that. I wanted to explore beyond the horizon of that horizon, the thrill of adventure and mystery was what drew me to this. The unexpected drew me closer._

 _I wish I could have climbed the gate and kept running in that direction for ever and ever. Like the endless land would never stop._

I woke up and what I saw was extremely startling.

 **Hey all, this is part two up, almost immediately up after part one, hope you enjoyed this one as much as the last. I wonder if you can guess where Jordan was in every scene of his dream. Anyway the next one should be up before the end of the month (I hope), until next time.**

 **Chapter Twenty-One: Pokémon the Power of One- Part Three**


	21. Pokemon the Power of One: Part 3

**Disclaimer: Umm…what's this here for again? Oh right, I still don't own Pokémon.**

21\. Pokémon the Power of One: Part Three

I sat up slowly with a sharp pain in my left leg and an incomprehensible, sound shattering ringing in my ears.

Bits of rubble kept falling aimlessly around me, I would have flinched every time one landed near me, if I could have flinched, but the pain in my leg was too painful to make me do much else. Thankfully, none of the rubble hit me, but they still bounced erratically around me. A few bounced harmlessly toward me.

I looked around and saw that my friends were starting to stir from the fall. It seemed like it was a miracle that none of us got hit from any of the rubble.

Camilla was holding Cubone, he looked quite scared, but her Pikachu was calming it down as Camilla was in shock too much. I was glad that none of her Pokémon were hurt.

Leaf was shaking her head trying to wrap her head around what had just happened, she immediately looked in my direction and her eyes widened.

Tracey was slowly getting up rubbing the back of his head, he must have hit it while he fell to the ground.

Riley slowly stood up, he looked a little shaken, but this was my uncle, he was one of the strongest people I knew.

Melody was sitting up, she looked into her bag, she was making sure the orbs hadn't smashed. I wondered even if they could, they were kind of magical. What would happen if they did smash? What would happen to the Pokémon they represented?

Pikachu was laying a few feet away, he was still unconscious. I tried to use my voice to call out to him.

'Pikachu?' I called.

I would have moved, but the pain in my leg coursed roughly through, thus causing me to wince in exceedingly uncomfortable pain.

I was refined to dragging myself across the floor instead of attempting to stand up. If I could stand up, like my friends were currently attempting to do I would go straight toward Pikachu to see if my best friend was okay.

I wondered was I was unable to move, sure my leg was in a lot of pain, but that wouldn't stop me from helping my friends, heck, I even died for them once and I'm still here. Why was I unable to move? I looked toward my leg to assess the damage to it and I found out why I was restrained and why I was unable to move.

There was a huge sort of aircraft that had my leg caught between it and the ground. Great, what was I going to do now? I was surprised my leg was still in one piece, but with me immobilized I wouldn't be able to complete the prophecy.

The aircraft looked like it had crashed and embedded its way into the earth's surface.

I looked over toward my friends and a few feet away was a set of stairs that led up quite a way to a place I couldn't see.

There was a fog that didn't look as fog normally did, it didn't shield me from my friends, but shielded me past them.

I couldn't see much of the aircraft, but the fog bank shielded most of it, but I could tell it was large.

My friends started to slowly sit up, one by one.

All of them looked at me and their eyes widened in shock, they all scrambled to reach me.

My uncle came running toward me, emerging from the fog behind my friends, he was wearing his Sinnoh clothes. He took his hat off and proceeded to helping me trying to figure a way to move the pressure from my leg.

'Jordan.' He started. 'This is a problem.' He said.

I already knew, but he was looking at the flying machine and was trying to figure out how to get it off of me.

Leaf, Melody and Tracey were the first to arrive to me.

'Are you okay, Jordan?' Tracey asked me. Could he see me? I was trapped under a massive flying machine.

Leaf punched him in the shoulder.

'Ow.' He complained.

'Do you feel any pain?' Leaf asked. I thought this was also a stupid question. I raised my eyebrow at her.

'It could have been numb.' She replied to my look.

Camilla came limping over with Cubone awake in one arm and the other was holding my Pikachu who was still unconscious.

'Pikachu.' I said in relief.

I looked at Camilla, she was on one leg, she gave me a fake smile.

Melody noticed Camilla's pain and went to help her.

Camilla leaned against Melody for support, maybe those two may get along.

"The chosen ones downfall will be the price." This was probably what the line meant. I had now been immobilized by a large flying vehicle, but since I was immobilized the island, no the world was saved. I had to have a catastrophe happen to me, so the world would be saved, but I didn't understand some of the lines they felt incomplete, such as; for the only one to tame the beast of the sea. This line was incomplete and couldn't be complete if I was immobilized.

I didn't understand this, every other line from the prophecy had been completed, why was this one unable to be completed? Or was it a coincidence? Was it a coincidence that every other line was as it was said? Was it that the prophecy was just mumbo jumbo? I had fallen to the trap of speculative natives.

A huge creak sounded from the flying vessel and I knew this was the real consequence of saving the world, I was going to die for the second time, but this time I wouldn't be coming back.

I looked to Riley who started to glow blue.

I could see my leg under the vessel, it was just being crushed, but I also felt some surge of strength flow through me, but not enough to move.

I looked toward Camilla and she was enveloped in a white light.

Riley walked toward the flying vessel and where my legs where he put his fingers under and lifted the vessel a bit.

It was enough to get my leg out.

' _Get, Jordan out!'_ Riley shouted.

'Help him!' Camilla said.

She must have heard Riley speak too.

Leaf and Tracey took my arms and dragged me from the vessel.

Riley put the vessel down and I was free, still hurt, but free.

Riley then fell to his hands and knees, as the blue around him faded. He was breathing heavily.

I felt the strength leave and I started to breath heavy.

Leaf then took Cubone from Camilla and Tracey took my Pikachu from Camilla.

Camilla almost fell to the floor breathing heavily too. Melody caught her and let her down gently.

'Uncle?' I asked. 'You have aura?' I was astonished that he kept this from me.

Why did he keep this from me, he knew I had aura too, so why didn't he tell me. Camilla had ESP, he must have found that out too.

'What?' Leaf, Melody and Tracey exclaimed in unison.

Riley sat up and looked at me, regaining his breath.

'I am your dads brother.' Riley said if it was that simple. 'This aura you possess had been passed down the Hale line, but it always skipped a generation, until it came to you. Our grandad had it, but our father didn't, we both got aura, but Red learnt to control it faster and better than me, when he found out you had aura when you were a baby it surprised him, that's why he left, to see if he could find out anything about it, now you have learnt that you have it he is letting you grow up and learn about it yourself.' Riley explained.

Now the reason for my dad's absence made sense.

Although I had a thousand questions, they would better for my dad to answer when I next saw him, and now was not the time to discuss aura, we had bigger problems.

The three legendary birds were fighting against one another above the fog and we had to stop it.

Did I mention I hate having problems on top of problems and solutions that just create more problems?

I was now injured so there was no way I could complete the prophecy, not in the state I'm in.

'Where's the orb?' I asked.

I know I changed the subject so abruptly, but completing the prophecy was more important than anything else, we had to stop the three legendary birds from attacking each other.

Melody took all three orbs out of her bag.

'We need to get them to the pedestal.' I said.

'You are in no state to move.' My uncle told me.

'Uncle, this prophecy is supposed to be mine to fulfil, I am the chosen one.' I told him.

Leaf and Tracey sighed.

They knew there was no arguing with me, I was stubborn, my recklessness had never gone away. I would never stop trying to prove myself.

'Mr Riley,' Melody started. 'Jordan has been chosen to fulfil this prophecy by the people of Shamouti island.' Melody said. 'We can help him, but he has to be the one to save us.' Melody told him. 'This was just a tradition, but this year it seems as if Jordan is the chosen one to save the world.'

This weight that had been given to me seemed to get heavier with every word that Melody said.

Riley stood up.

'If this is what you want Jordan, I will help in any way I can.' My uncle said.

He bent down and wrapped one of my arms around his shoulders.

He helped me stand up.

Melody bent down and struggled to help Camilla up.

'Can I have Cubone?' She asked Leaf.

Leaf gave Cubone to Camilla and she then proceeded to help Melody support Camilla.

I heard a sound. It was high pitched, but very soothing. I didn't know what it was or where it came from, but I had an assumption.

We made or way toward the stairs, we had no idea where we were, we could have been on one of the islands, either the fire or the ice. I doubt we would have crashed on the same island we were taken from, but we could also have been on Shamouti island.

There was only one way were going to find out where we were.

'Jordan!' Tracey shouted after we went up a few steps.

With Riley's help I turned around.

Pikachu slowly opened its eyes.

'Pikachu!' I called. I was so glad he was alright.

'Pika.' He said weakly.

I would have grabbed him, but I was in a weakened state and he was also, so we would embrace each other later.

We kept walking up the stairs, I knew this would take longer, especially since last time I ran, this time I was limping with the help from my uncle.

I was going slower than walking, every few steps we had to stop, not just for me, but for Camilla also.

Leaf, Melody and Tracey were fine, they could have left us and gone to the top their selves. It would have been easier on them and us.

Riley was still a little out of breath, but he was strong enough to help me up the hundreds of stairs we had to climb.

I couldn't believe I had been injured so that the prophecy would now take longer. I had planned to complete the Prophecy in one night, now how long would it take? A few days, longer? I did not want it to last longer than how I had planned previously, even with this injury I would complete the prophecy at the same time I planned before I became injured.

This is how prophecies worked with me, or how things did when I was saving the world. I would get injured in some way that would set back the time frame I predicted.

I mean the first major thing I did was when Mewtwo tried to take over the world. But I wasn't injured I was dead, Camilla and Leaf saw me die, Brock, Liam and Rachel were also there, they also saw me die, I got hit by two oncoming psychic attacks to stop a quarrel between a clone of the other.

I made a split-second decision, one that changed my life forever, now I knew Camilla hated when I was told that I was the one to save the world. She didn't want to see me die again.

I wouldn't ever be that reckless again. I wouldn't put myself in danger on purpose, unfortunately I had managed that this time as well as last, but this time it was just a coincidence that I got hurt.

Neither Leaf, Tracey, Melody or my uncle had suffered any injuries.

Just Camilla and I were unfortunate, she had an injured leg and I had mine caught under a huge flying vessel.

A second sound cried out like the first time, it was so calm I almost lost my footing. It was louder than last time though.

I hoped the top of this island was Shamouti. I did not want to come out and be on a completely different island.

The fog got thicker and I knew we were in the cloud bank. I could barely see my friends as they walked up these stairs.

I didn't know how long we would walk through this cloud bank for, and how much father ahead after we came out, the top of the island would be.

I came out the top and saw that we didn't have much longer to climb, but this didn't look like Shamouti island, it looked like one of the islands that either Articuno, Zapdos or Moltres was on.

It wasn't the one that Pikachu and I ran up, that had a lot greyer than this, this looked black, like it had been burnt. It also wasn't covered in snow, so I guessed this must have been fire island.

I looked out ahead of the place where the fire orb would have been and there were the three legendary birds fighting, but it wasn't against each other, it was together against a larger Pokémon.

It was primarily white, it resembled a dragon and a bird. It has a blue underside with different tones. It had a rigid mouth similar to a beak, but two pointed teeth protruding from its bottom jaw. Its head is pointed at the back. It has a long slender neck and a smooth streamlined body. It has dark blue plate like protrusions run down its back and it has two more pointed ones at the end of its tail. It has large wings that looked like forearms and hands.

That was most likely Lugia, the Treasure of the sea, the one that was supposed to quench the fighting.

Zapdos fired a thunder towards Lugia but missed.

Moltres fired a flamethrower, but that also missed.

Articuno fired an ice beam toward Lugia.

Lugia was instantly frozen in a column of ice.

The three birds just hovered there for a moment.

This didn't seem right, how could three birds who were to be stopped by Lugia beat Lugia?

Lugia did quench the fighting, but now it was encased in ice, so to stop the fighting it had to fail, much like me. I felt I had failed, especially now since Lugia was encased in a column of ice.

A few seconds latter a shattering sound echoed around us.

I saw Lugia flying, as if nothing had happened, like it hadn't just been frozen in ice.

I had to get to Shamouti island. I had just run up these stairs with what could have been a broken leg for no reason at all.

Lugia caught my eye as it soared past the island.

' _The chosen one.'_ Its voice said in my mind.

My friends all looked to me.

Maybe it wasn't in my head.

' _You have to get the orbs to the pedestal.'_ Lugia said.

I looked across the water and saw Shamouti island in the distance. I knew that to get there it would take a while, but I was the one in this prophecy and I couldn't fail.

'I've got to get over there.' I said pointing to Shamouti island.

Pikachu climbed up my leg and up my arm to perch on my shoulder, his original place.

'That could take forever.' Tracey said.

'Tracey's right.' Leaf agreed. 'Plus any forms of transport even using your Pokémon would be suicide.' She told me. 'You remember how we almost got killed by Moltres and Zapdos attacks in the ship.' Leaf reminded me.

That wasn't what treacherous meant to me. It wasn't exactly treacherous, just foolish, but I had to finish what I started.

'And now there are four birds attacking for their right to control the three islands, including this one.' Camilla said.

I didn't need this; my friends were making this sound worse than I needed to hear it. If anything I needed a pep talk to boost my confidence so I would do it without hesitation.

I started to hobble toward the stairs attempting to ignore the pain in my leg.

'Jordan!' Riley called. 'What do you think you're doing?' He asked me.

'Completing the prophecy.' I replied as I started to make my way down the stairs.

'Pika.' Pikachu said in sympathy to me. I knew he didn't like seeing me in pain, but I had to finish this, to make this right. I started descending the stairs.

Riley offered his help, but I didn't want assistance. Hobbling down these stairs was also a foolish task, but when I wanted to do something, I would see it through.

I knew my friends were behind me, following me, keeping at my pace.

I turned and saw Camilla was directly behind me, she was limping down the stairs, it seemed she no longer needed help from Melody.

I was glad none of my friends were impatient, not like I was becoming.

I was so annoyed with myself. I wish I could move faster, but the pain in my leg restricted me.

I began to limp, instead of hobble. I was now able to put more pressure on my leg, but only ever so slightlhy. I wondered how long it would be until I could walk properly again.

Eventually we got to the bottom of the stairs. The aircraft was still there, it hadn't moved since Riley moved it.

Lawrence hadn't been seen since he disappeared up on his chair. I didn't know if he was dead or alive.

I had to concentrate on the task at hand. I had to finish this before the sun rose.

The fog bank had completely lifted now, and I could see Shamouti island in the distance. I could see that it was covered in a blanket of snow, this weather had affected everywhere but the islands. Although ice island already had snow on it, it was the home of Articuno, it made sense that it was cold.

I needed a way to get to Shamouti island and put the orbs where they belonged to stop this four-way attack.

I limped to the edge of the island where the sea met the rocks.

The sea was treacherous, and it threatened to crash upon me, but I didn't move.

The waves crashed, just before they reached where I stood, if I was hit by a wave, I was sure that I would probably injure me even more.

Camilla came up to my left and looked across the ocean like me.

We needed to find a way across this treacherous sea to Shamouti.

Leaf and Tracey came up on my right, respectively.

'So, Jordan?' Leaf started. 'What's the plan?' She asked.

This felt like the first time I was asked this, when we met Mewtwo, some random dude said that he would follow me, he said that everyone would follow me.

That was a huge responsibility I didn't ask for, just like this time.

' _Lugia!'_ I thought.

I felt a huge surge of power wash over me, I could feel my friends look at me wide eyed in shock.

I closed my eyes, when I opened them again, I was surrounded in darkness facing Lugia,

' _Chosen one.'_ Lugia said.

' _I need your help.'_ I replied.

Lugia looked at me inquisitively.

Lugia and I were somehow brought closer.

Lugia looked deep into my eyes, I swear he was looking into my soul.

' _You don't need my help.'_ Lugia replied.

This was the same thing that Moltres said. Like I would ask for their help if I didn't need it.

I blinked and I saw my surrounds.

I fell backwards. My aura once again left me.

'Jordan!' My friends called as they all rushed to aid me.

Why did my aura take so much out of me? I didn't know how to control it yet, and I got tired for no reason.

I was brought to sit up.

My friends, my uncle and Melody were beside me.

'Are you okay?' Camilla asked me.

'I'm fine.' I replied.

'What did you do?' My uncle asked me?

'I talked to Lugia.' I replied. 'I wanted help.' I admitted.

'That was your plan?' Leaf asked.

I nodded.

'Honestly, Jordan. I expected something reckless or unorthodox.' Leaf said standing up.

She offered me her hand. I took it and she helped me up.

My friends stood up from their crouched positions as I got up.

I heard Lugia cry, it was so loud I could swear it was really close to me.

I looked up and above me Lugia descended.

I moved out the way, still limping.

I wish this leg would heal already, I didn't want to have it hurting for any longer, I was beginning to become quite restless.

Lugia landed and looked at me.

' _Climb up, chosen one.'_ Lugia said.

I hobbled toward Lugia, before I forgot something.

'What about you guys?' I asked.

'Melody?' We heard a voice call.

We all turned and saw a boat with Melody's sister on it.

'Carol, what are you doing here?' Melody asked.

'You left without any warning, you didn't tell anyone where you were going.' Carol said.

'We went to help Jordan.' Melody told he sister.

'And then it started to snow, snow out of everything. I could have lost you.' Carol added.

'I'm fine, Carol.' Melody said.

Carol gave her sister a hug.

'We'll meet you there.' My uncle told me. 'Carol, can we catch a ride back to Shamouti?' He asked.

'Riley?' Carol asked. She blushed.

'S-s-sure.' She stuttered.

'Melody, can I have the orbs?' I asked.

Melody gave me her bag and I slung it over my shoulder.

I felt it was a little girly, but I needed to keep it secure, I couldn't lose these orbs.

I climbed onto Lugia while my friends boarded onto the boat. Pikachu went to perch on Lugias head.

Lugia took off and before I knew it, we were above the clouds.

I saw Articuno, Moltres and Zapdos firing attacks aimlessly at each other.

As Lugia got closer to them they became aware of Lugias presence, but apparently not mine, they all shot attacks toward Lugia, and Lugia narrowly dodged them.

Lugia divebombed toward the water to see if it could get away from the attacks.

All three birds chased after us.

Moltres shot a column of fire toward us, but Ligia was quick to evade it.

Zapdos shot a bolt of electricity toward Lugia, but Lugia made it underneath the water before it hit.

I wasn't able to see if Articuno fired an attack, but above us I saw the waters surface was starting to freeze, I felt the temperature change, it was starting to get colder.

We managed to go a few more seconds underwater before I could feel myself needing air.

As soon as I was about to take a breath of water Lugia emerged from the sea and I saw Shamouti island was not much father. I looked behind us and the three birds were back to attacking each other instead of pursuing us.

Lugia landed at the top of the stairs where the pedestal was, but my friends weren't there yet.

The snow would make it harder for me to move with my limp, and it would be colder which would slow me down anyway.

I made my way off of Lugia and Pikachu jumped and landed on my shoulder.

I looked out over the sea and saw their ship slowly making its way toward the island.

I'd have to complete the prophecy without them here.

Lugia flew off into the sky and headed toward the fight to stop the birds fighting each other.

I limped toward the pedestal where I would place the three orbs.

I looked below the pedestal where there was a slab of ancient text.

It read the prophecy.

Disturb not the ones who harmonise together, that was too late now, all three legendary birds were fighting each other.

The beast of the sea, tis he who holds the treasure, I didn't know what the beast of the sea was, but whatever it was it held Lugia, and Lugia didn't emerge until the beast showed itself.

With lightning, fire and ice, this meaning Zapdos, Moltres and Articuno respectively.

The chosen one's downfall will be the price, that already happened I was immobilized by Lawrence's ship, or maybe it would happen any minute now.

Three orbs that hold the solution, this meant the three orbs I had in my possession right now.

Stop this will the worlds pollution, once I put the orbs back the snow should stop falling and melt away and the Orange Islands Archipelago will once again be tropical instead of a frozen wasteland.

The shrill sound blocking cry will be near, this was the sound that Lugia made.

As the people of Shamouti cower in fear, this would probably be due to the snow falling, they'd probably retreat to their houses.

 _The_ _chosen one will bring together all three, this meant the three orbs._

 _For the only one to tame the beast of the sea, me putting all three orbs in their place would help Lugia tame the beast of the sea._

 _I stood back up and reached into Melody's bag. I took out the Lightning orb and placed it in the first slot._

 _Like before it glowed and the died down._

 _I then placed the fire orb in its place and it also did like the lightning orb before dying down._

 _I then took out the last orb and placed it in the last place._

 _It glowed before dying down._

 _This wasn't right, apparently placing all three was supposed to stop the fighting, I saw in the distance that the three birds were still fighting one another._

 _I heard a sound that was familiar._

 _It was the start of a tune._

 _I turned around and saw Melody starting to play her ocarina._

 _My friends came inside the pillars._

 _I turned back and saw that the orbs started to glow._

 _That was something vital that the prophecy forgot to mention._

 _Apparently, someone had to play the ocarina, and the song of Lugia to complete the prophecy._

Melody made her way to the middle of the pillars and continued to play the song.

Slowly the snow melted away outward.

A green liquid poured out from where the orbs were, and it trickled its way toward Melody but formed a circle around her then a second circle was made just before the pillars.

The snow was completely gone from the top of Shamouti island.

I looked out to the sea and saw that ice was now melting.

The snow clouds had disappeared and all I could see now was bright blue skies.

I saw the birds were no longer fighting.

Articuno and Zapdos returned to their island, Lugia returned to the sea as soon as Melody finished her song.

Moltres was instead heading this way.

Moltres landed on the pedestal.

I was surprised that weight of Moltres didn't crush the pedestal.

' _Camilla Brook, Jordan Hale, I believe I promise you something.'_ Moltres said.

I remembered what Moltres said in Lawrence's ship, it was about the great prophecy that included us both.

' _It is in a faraway region and the people that are plotting it have already started on their plans, but it will not happen for a few years, you are both destined to save our world, this mishap was only happening in the orange islands and just reached Kanto. Whereas this great prophecy will affect the whole world.'_ Moltres explained.

As soon as he finished, he flew off.

I woke up in a room I wasn't familiar with.

Leaf was sitting next to the bed I was in.

I slowly sat up.

'I'm glad you're up, we were worried about you.' Leaf said.

'Where am I?' I asked.

'Shamouti.' Leaf replied. 'You and Camilla collapsed almost as soon as all the snow melted.' Leaf explained.

'Moltres talked to us.' I replied.

'Jordan, Moltres headed back to fire island just before you collapsed.' Leaf told me.

'His Aura.' Camilla said a bit croakily, she was in a bed a few feet from mine.

She slowly sat up.

Tracey came in.

'Boy am I glad you guys are okay.' Tracey said. 'Your uncle has been worried.' Tracey informed.

Riley?

'Is he okay?' I asked.

'Yeah he's good, but you guys missed a whole day of celebrations.' Tracey told me.

We'd been out for a whole day?

'Shamouti are taking down the decorations now.' Melody said standing in the doorway, she was wearing the clothes she wore when we first saw her.

'Help me out please?' I asked.

Tracey immediately came to my aid and helped me out of bed.

I walked a few steps with Tracey's aid. My leg didn't hurt anymore, it was completely healed, but I felt a little weak, I hadn't eaten in a whole day.

Leaf helped Camilla and we were both taken out to the food hall.

We sat on the table we had before, but the chief was sitting there waiting for us.

'We thank you, Jordan Hale.' He started.

He was wearing a dark blue shirt with white tropical trees dotted all over it.

'We didn't expect the prophecy to actually come true, it was only old folklore for the tourists, but we thank you for bring peace back to our Orange islands, I expect you'll receive quite the name around here now.' The chief said. 'Anyway, thankyou again, and a special thanks for keeping our Melody safe. I expect your hungry, so we'll let you and then you can be on your way. I guess you'll want a relaxing few days after the events that just happened.' The chief said, with that he went off to oversee the removal of the decorations.

Once we ate, we went back to the beach and set off on Blastoise, We had to get to my last Gym challenge, then I could battle the champion of the Orange islands crew and claim the title of champion.

I had not forgot the real reason I came here.

We were setting out to Kumquat island.

 **So here is the next chapter, it would have been up earlier, but my laptop broke a week or so ago, but now its fixed, the next one shouldn't be up to long. This chapter wraps up the movie arc. Last three chapters and then we'll move onto the Johto Arc. Until next time.**

 **Chapter Twenty-Two: Double for Kumquat**


	22. Double for Kumquat

**Disclaimer: Pokémon, still something that belongs to someone…oh, it's not me.**

Double for Kumquat

We reached Kumquat in a few hours.

We all hopped off the beach and saw that this place seemed a little familiar, it was different, but still seemed similar.

I then remembered that this place resembled Mandarin island a bit.

The beach, the beachfront and then behind that the city. This was different though.

The beach was remarkably smaller and less packed.

The beachfront was not led up to by stairs there was just a small wall that you could clamber over.

The city was not a city, it was much smaller, it was more like a town.

We could see the Pokémon centre as one of the first buildings, but I was here for a Gym challenge, but I didn't know what to expect for this Gym challenge, Cissy held out battle outside, it was first near a shed and I had to have Blastoise shoot the targets, then shoot moving targets, then we had a race with both our Blastoise and then I won.

Danny held his at the top of a mountain, we had to freeze a geyser, then make a sled before riding it down the mountain. I won the race, so only narrowly beat Danny.

Rudy held his battle on top of pillars, I had to beat everyone of his Pokémon with no physical moves when the types were the same as his Pokémon. I managed to win all those battles, but again only narrowly.

Was it worth it? Battling these three, then meeting the last of the Orange crew here and losing against them? I had come so far to lose against the last of the Orange crew. The Orange crew each got harder with every-one I challenged. Rudy's was almost impossible to win against.

I returned Blastoise before we headed to the Pokémon centre.

'Travis!' We heard a woman call to our left, we turned just before I was embraced in a hug.

I didn't know what was happening.

I was caught in a hug with a woman I didn't know.

'Oh, Travis its been so long, but I'd knew you'd always come back.' The woman continued. I was still stuck in her embrace.

She eventually let me go.

She saw the confused expression on my face.

'Do you not recognize your own mother?'

Mother?

This wasn't my mother, my mother was in Pallet Town right now

Plus this woman looked nothing like her.

This woman had auburn hair, my mother had brown. This womans hair was cropped around her shoulders length, mine was in a pony tail and a strand falling on each side of her face. Her eye colour was blue, my mothers were brown.

Confusion was shown on all our faces not just mine.

'Oh.' The woman said, she looked slightly deflated and her face heated up from embarrassment. 'I'm so sorry.' She apologised. 'You looked like my son Travis when he left on his own Pokémon journey, he also had a Pikachu as a partner.' The woman explained.

'No problem.' I replied. 'I'm Jordan, and this is my buddy, Pikachu.'

'Pika.' Pikachu greeted.

'I'm Camilla, this Pikachu and Cubone.' Camilla said.

'My name is Leaf.'

'And my name is Tracey.' My friends all introduced themselves.

'My name is Luana.' She replied. 'I ask you stay at my hotel tonight in forgiveness.' She said.

She didn't need forgiving, it was an honest mistake, but she was willingly giving us a place to stay.

We all obliged.

We followed her to the hotel instead of heading to the Pokémon centre.

The hotel was the biggest building in the town. It was also the only thing that looked out of place, it rose much higher than every other building. The floors had windows that were the whole floor, like the whole building was made from glass.

We went through the front doors and what greeted us was magnificent.

There was a fountain with two Horsea statues on either side sprouting water from their mouths.

In the middle was a statue of a Pokémon I didn't recognise, it looked like Horsea and Seadra, but it was much larger, it was also thinner in comparison, it looked like a water dragon. Its head was back, and water sprouted upward from its mouth and fell in every direction around it.

We walked round the fountain and saw a large half-oval reception desk.

There were people behind it, talking and typing on computers.

'Luana?' One of the asked standing up looking at us.

'They're with me.' Luana quickly responded.

She took us to an elevator. We went up and made our way to the fifteenth floor.

Once we came out there was a corridor with doors on either side, this was a familiar sight, one the Pokémon centre always had.

My friends and I followed Luana to one of the rooms, she opened the door for us and let us in.

My friends and I went in. I put my bag on a bed and turned to thank Luana.

'Thank you, Luana. Can I ask you a question?' I asked.

'Yes, Jordan?' She asked.

'Do you know who the last member of the Orange crew is?' I asked.

'Why don't we take a walk while your friends get settled in?' She asked.

My friends looked at me with confusion.

'Sure, I'll be fine guys.' I reassured them.

I followed Luana out the room and we went back to the elevator.

We travelled back down to the ground floor but stepped out on the other side of the elevator.

The room behind was huge.

It was not what I expected, the stands were a little bare and I saw a little sparring practice going on.

A boy around my age was battling with a Nidoking, while the girl on the opposite side battled with an Alakazam.

The Nidoking looked a lot more powerful than the Alakazam which was strange since poison was weak to psychic.

'This is the battlefield sometimes trainers come here to train or battle, as you see over there.' Luana said.

Pikachu jumped off of my shoulder and headed toward the battlefield.

Luana led me closer to the battle that was taking place and I saw that they weren't even using a battlefield, they were only using part of the big one.

'Alakazam, use psyshock.'

Nidoking was stuck with an invisible pain and was brought down to one knee.

Alakazam, also looked quite tired, they must have both been on equal footing.

'These two come here to battle each other every day, ever since they've been little, they both have six Pokémon, and when they first battled, this Alakazam was an Abra and this Nidoking was a Nidoran.' Luana told me. 'So why have you come here, Jordan?'

I almost forgot, that was the question I was going to ask her.

'Are you the Orange crew member of Kumquat?' I asked.

'Yes, I am.' Luana replied. 'So why have you come here, Jordan?' She echoed.

'I want to ask you to participate in your challenge.' I said.

'I accept your challenge.' Luana replied. 'We will have a double battle here tomorrow morning. Best to come prepared.' Luana warned me.

Wit that Luana walked away and left me standing there.

I was looking into space a good few seconds before I blinked.

I've had bad experiences with this type of Battle, first with Evelyn who specialised in double battles, then I lost against Lorelei, an elite four member who I succeeded in beating at the Pokémon league, and now I had to battle another trainer who specialised in double battles.

I walked back to my room, my friends were all talking animatedly as I entered.

'Jordan, what did you talk about?' Tracey asked.

'She took me to her battle ground and asked why I was here.' I replied.

I went and sat down on the bottom bunk of mine and Tracey's bed.

'And?' Leaf pressed. 'What did you say?' She asked.

'I asked her if I could compete in her challenge, she said yes, but the problem is it's a double battle.' I knew Pikachu didn't like the sound of a double battle because he had a bad experience in it. I wondered if I should use Pokémon I had never used before in this double battle.

Pikachu and Snorlax had been in a double battle, so had Charmeleon, he was now a Charizard and was also in Charicific valley. So I had choices between Blastoise, Sandslash and Dragonite. I would most likely be using Sandslash as he hadn't much battle time at all since I had been here, Dragonites last battle was against Snorlax, whereas Blastoise had been involved in all my other battles and had been our main mode of transport around the Orange Islands Archipelago.

Dragonite was rare and powerful, but maybe that was where I went wrong in my last double battles. I needed a powerful Pokémon, not that my other Pokémon weren't powerful, its just people think Dragonite is extremely powerful, so it unnerves them.

I didn't think tat would work with Luana, she is and Orange crew member, it would take more than that to unnerve her.

I had double battles before, but this was one I could not lose. I had to win this one and I had made my mind up of who I would use tomorrow, but I had no idea who Luana would use, what if she had an ice type and a Pokémon who had a type advantage against Sandslash, of course this had never stopped him before, he had taken out types that were strong against him, so had Dragonite, so I shouldn't be too worried, its just my previous experiences that would keep me holding back.

I was second guessing every decision I made about this challenge, but I had to have everything ready for tomorrow. I needed to be prepared, not just for the battle, but for every outcome that would present itself so I could counter without worrying too much.

'Are you okay?' Camilla asked.

'I have to be.' I replied.

It's not like Luana would change her challenge just for me, even if she did, I wouldn't feel like I deserved it if I won, but I did have preparation for this with my previous double battles.

If I did more of these double battles I would get better at them, all I had to would be treat this like a practice battle, but one that I had to win.

'You will be.' Leaf assured me.

I knew Leaf would say that, she was the only person out of my friends that had battled me recently.

Camilla had battled me twice, once was in my first Château challenge, the second time was outside Cerulean City's Château. The first time I lost, the second time our match was a draw, so I had no idea if Camilla was stronger or weaker than me as a trainer. I believed she was stronger, but she would disagree and say that I was stronger than she was.

'The girls are right, Jordan. You have overcome everything that I've witnessed. Even when it seemed hopeless you have been able to turn around and emerge victorious, you even stopped Snorlax from destroying five of the seven grapefruit islands, and only recently you helped Lugia stop the three mythical birds of lightning, fire and ice.' Tracey told me.

He was right I had overcome everything that I had to face with, but its just the last two double battles I had, I had lost, that is what put me off.

What if it was going to be like this forever? What if I was never able to overcome this? What if I was never able to win a double battle?

It was great that my friends were trying to boost my confidence in my upcoming challenge, and even though I was dragging myself down again, I was grateful, and I knew that I would have to be ready for tomorrow.

I decided that it would be no use going over the battle now. Luana would be unpredictable, I had only three challenges in the Orange league. Whereas in another region I had eight, they were pretty much all the same, a battle after different challenges, some more challenging than the next, but with the Orange league, they were just challenges.

The Orange league challenges were more difficult than the previous. Rudy's was the hardest, I was close to losing it. I did manage to defeat him, but now Luana had given me a near impossible task, but it only seemed that way because I wasn't being optimistic. I was feeling negative about it because of my recent experiences.

'Pika?' Pikachu asked me.

'I'll be fine bud.' I reassured him.

I decided now would be a good time to sleep I could think more through this tomorrow when I had to battle.

I didn't dream that night, I was glad. I didn't want aura to take over my dreams and distract me from gaining my last Orange crew badge.

I woke up as my friends were starting to stir.

I got dressed quickly and made my way downstairs to the lobby.

Luana was in the lobby waiting for me.

'Good morning.' She greeted me. 'You seem eager.' She added.

'I have the chance to win the Jade Star badge today.' I said.

Luana nodded. I knew she was also looking forward to our battle. I was less experienced than she was, but I was very determined and more pumped that I felt last night, I was feeling confident right now.

I heard the elevator doors opening behind me.

Leaf came out laughing as Camilla smiled, probably from what she told Leaf.

They both realised me almost immediately.

'It seems all of you are eager for Jordan's challenge.' Luana commented.

'Jordan, is eager for food.' Leaf remarked.

I glared at her before my stomach growled. It just had to growl then.

'I am missing breakfast. I replied.

'Then how about we get something to eat?' Luana suggested.

'Count me in.' Tracey said heading toward us.

Luana took us to a separate room where there was a breakfast buffet. I immediately made my way toward it.

As soon as I reached it Pikachu jumped off my shoulder and started to look for the tomato ketchup. That was obvious that he would look for that, he was obsessed with the stuff, it wasn't very healthy for him to have it all the time, but he was stubborn with eating like me, he would eat as much as I would, and he would only have one type of food unless he was feeling anything else.

Pikachu jumped off the table once he found the Ketchup and dragged it along the floor to an empty table. He hauled it up popped it open and begun to slurp the red substance up.

I looked over the food and decided to get some buttered toast, sure I should have eaten quite a bit, but the nerves were starting to get to me, I didn't know how much I would have eaten.

'That's a light breakfast.' Luana commented as my made my way to the table.

'He's just feeling the nerves.' Camilla said following me to the table, her plate had four chocolate pop tarts on it.

She was fine, but I couldn't have anything sweet, my stomach wouldn't be able to handle it before a battle.

Pikachu was fine with the tomato ketchup, but I wasn't using him in this battle and maybe he knew this too. He would probably sleep in the trainers box while it was going on.

Luana sat opposite me with a plate of a full English breakfast. With everyone else's breakfast, it had put me off of my own breakfast a bit.

I knew I wouldn't eat much if anything.

Leaf and Tracey had a bowl of cereal, but they both had different cereal.

I took a few bites of one of my slices of bread before pushing it away. I was not feeling like eating; the nerves were really getting to me.

Sure I thought about this yesterday, and everything I thought about came rushing back, but instead of little bits at a time, but now it was all of it at once.

I saw Luana open her mouth, but Camilla-who sat next to me-shook her head, meaning it was pointless.

'Jordan, can I talk to you?' Tracey asked.

Leaf, Camilla and I snapped our heads up.

Camilla moved out so I could talk to Tracey.

Tracey took me to a secluded part of the room where Camilla Leaf and Luana couldn't see or hear us.

'Jordan, I haven't known you for long, but this is different from your other gym challenges, you seem really nervous about this one.' He observed.

'I have only had two double battles before, and I lost them both.' I told Tracey.

'So?' Tracey asked.

'What?' I asked.

'You lost two of two, how did your very first Pokémon battles go? Did you win them? Have you won every battle you've taken part in? Have you ever been rejected by trainers? They know you're strong enough to battle then in any kind of battle. Did you battle alongside anyone powerful? Have you beaten strong trainers before? Has anyone thought highly of you before? Let's not forget, you helped me with Scyther. How many other people have you helped? And, have you stopped anything bad from happening? I've heard you've saved your friends lives countless times. Camilla, Leaf and I think highly of you Jordan, we believe this will be easier than your previous two double battles.' Tracey told me.

Tracey was right, I had lost two of two, but my first three Pokémon battles were also a loss, two were of competitions, the other was against my rival Liam.

From then on I'd had good experiences as battles, sure I didn't win all of them, but that was okay, I was still a good enough trainer. I had been rejected to battling a few times, I was kind of disappointed, but that was also okay. It wouldn't look very good if I just battled all the time, plus my Pokémon needed the rest sometimes. I had people over Kanto knowing my name for different reasons, then there were people that knew about me when we went to see Mewtwo. I did kind of help Tracey with Scyther, but then so did Camilla and Leaf. I had saved my friends lives countless amounts of times, that included Brock and Rachel, I had saved everyone who met Mewtwo twice, once I died though. I was glad my friends believed in me, even when I didn't.

'True, you are a novice of double battles, but you will get better, plus you have overcome every gym challenge, this is just another to test you.' Tracey told me.

'Thanks, Tracey.' I said. 'I needed that.' I continued.

I went back to the table, I was a lot more confident, thanks to Tracey.

Camilla and Leaf saw that I looked more eager than I did before.

Camilla stood up so I could get back to where I was sitting.

'How do you feel?' Leaf asked.

'Much better.' I replied.

I wolfed down my two slices of toast, I was really eager to battle now.

Pikachu finished his bottle as soon as I finished my toast.

'You ready, bud?' I asked.

'Pika.' He said looking a little bloated.

I chuckled. 'You shouldn't have had a whole bottle of ketchup, it serves you right.'

He jumped onto my shoulder with a glare at me.

I waited until everyone else finished their breakfast.

'Luana, I am ready for my battle now.' I said jumping back up.

Luana looked at me and a smile grew on her face.

'I do hope you give me a good battle. I haven't had a good one in ages.' Luana said.

My friends all went to the battle field.

I saw the two trainers who were here yesterday, they were waiting for Luana.

'We will use the full size of this one.' Luana said.

I went to stand in the trainer box that was closest to the door and Luana walked to the other trainer box.

Pikachu jumped off of my shoulder and curled up to lay down, on the edge of the trainer box. I knew exactly who I was using today, I'd had my line-up since yesterday.

'This battle will be between, the Gym leader, Luana.' The boy who battled yesterday said.

'And the Gym challenger Jordan.' The girl who battled yesterday added.

'This will be a two on two battle.' The boy continued.

'The battle will end when either one of the trainers Pokémon faints.' The girl finished.

'Begin.' They said in unison.

'Dragonite, Sandslash, I choose you.' I said sending them out respectively.

I had a good matchup, since Dragonite could fly so Sandslash's ground type moves would be ineffective to it.

Luana didn't look threatened, she looked like a Gym leader should, confident.

'Alakazam, Marowak.' Luana said sending out the Pokémon.

This Pokémon stood on two legs; it had a small spike at the end of its tail. Its body arms and legs were light brown in colour, its belly was white with lines going across it horizontally. On its feet were white nails as its toes. It has a white claw on its hands which act like thumbs, the rest of its hand was rounded. There was a skull on its head, it had two spiked ears on the back of the skull, at the end of its narrowed snout were two nostrils. It has two triangular slits or its eyeholes. Its eyes were brown. It was holding a bone club.

I took out my Pokédex to scan Marowak.

' _Marowak, the bone keeper Pokémon, and the evolved form of Cubone._ _Marowak is the evolved form of a Cubone that has overcome its sadness at the loss of its mother and grown tough. This Pokémon's tempered and hardened spirit is not easily broken.'_ My Pokédex told me.

I looked toward Cubone and thought how could a cute Pokémon like that evolve into a Marowak?

'I'll let you go first, Jordan.' Luana told me.

'Dragonite, use extreme speed, Sandslash, use slash.'

Before I could blink, Alakazam had moved a few feet toward Luana and looked a little bruised.

Dragonite hadn't moved, but I knew she had attacked with extreme speed. Meanwhile Sandslash ran towards Marowak with a glowing white claw.

Luana was too busy getting over the shock of Dragonites speed, Sandslash was upon Marowak and brought down its claw and slashed across Marowak.

Marowak was brought down to one knee.

I had caught Luana off guard, but I knew that this battle wouldn't be as easy as that. Maybe Luana was slow at getting started.

She got over her shock as Marowak stood back up.

'Boomerang.' She called. 'Future sight.'

I saw Alakazam's eyes turn blue before they turned back to black.

I had seen this move once before. I knew that soon either Dragonite or Sandslash would get hit, but I just had to concentrate on fainting one of Luana's Pokémon, that would win me my last badge. I didn't have any idea who would be the easiest to take out, so I didn't know who I would concentrate on.

Marowak threw its bone toward Sandslash.

'Use slash.' I said.

Sandslash held up its claw before it glowed white, the bone came toward it, but Sandslash brought its claw in connection with Marowak's bone and both attacks halted.

Sandslash, now had Marowak's bone, Marowak had to come and collect its bone from Sandslash now. I wondered how much it relied on its bone.

This might restrict it from certain moves

Luana didn't look worried though, I didn't imagine that this would trouble her, she was a professional member of the Orange crew.

'Dragonite, use…'

'Alakazam, psychic.' Luana called, interrupting my attack.

Dragonite was enveloped in a blue light, and Alakazam started to inflict pain.

'Marowak, use take down.

Marowak narrowed its eyes toward Sandslash. I had to think of something quick to help Dragonite or I would lose. I knew that Alakazam could keep this up for a while, it would deplete Dragonites health quickly if I didn't do something soon.

I thought of a move that may make Alakazam lose its concentration and it would release Dragonite, I just hoped it was a powerful one. I had good luck with this move before. I just hoped it didn't let me down now.

'Sandslash, Magnitude.'

Sandslash jumped, Marowak ran underneath it and lost its footing. It fell over and landed net to its bone, but before it could retrieve it Sandslash landed bringing both its front claws down.

The earth shook, it wasn't as powerful as I'd hoped, but it did achieve what I intended.

Dragonite was released of Alakazam's move.

Dragonite fell to the ground, but he looked okay to continue. I knew that he wouldn't last much longer.

I knew that Sandslash would have to help Dragonite, more now that ever, I knew he would be able to step up. I knew Dragonite would try her best, but they had to work together, or I wouldn't win this battle.

The magnitude stopped and Marowak took its bone.

'Bone club.' Luana called.

Marowak ran toward Sandslash.

I looked toward Luana and saw her and Alakazam share a look.

This was her strategy, she was distracting Sandslash with Marowak because they were both ground types then she started attacking Dragonite with Alakazam. It was a good strategy and not one I thought of doing, but I couldn't let her continue. Dragonite would be able to take another psychic attack, so I had to think fast while Sandslash was busy with Marowak I had to keep Dragonite from receiving pain from Alakazam.

'Dragonite fly and use extreme speed to keep out of Alakazam's sight.'

Dragonite became invisible almost as soon as I said that.

Sandslash had taken the attack from Marowak, but I knew that it was still okay.

Marowak had gone back to Luana, while Dragonite was keeping Alakazam busy I could focus on Sandslash and Marowak, but I had an idea.

It was crazy, but it might actually work, and it could get me the victory I needed. I would be extremely proud of thee result of this battle, if it was pulled off.

'Dragonite, extreme speed on Marowak.'

Marowak was moved a few feet from its previous position.

It fell to one knee.

'Sandslash, use earthquake.'

I couldn't have Alakazam being able to use is psychic attack again. I had to be sure and I didn't know how powerful magnitude would be, this time round.

The earth shook violently as soon as Sandslash brought its claws to the ground.

Marowak was still on the ground and it put Alakazam off of using its attack.

Alakazam's eyes turned blue, I almost completely forgot about the future sight attack.

Dragonite was hit in the back and landed on the ground as the earthquake subsided.

Both Marowak and Dragonite were on the ground.

One would have to get up, this match couldn't end in a draw. Sure Marowak fell first, so if Marowak didn't get up it would be my victory, right?

Marowak struggled to get up, but it up on two legs, they shook, but it looked like it could keep standing.

Dragonite lifted its head. She looked at me and I gave her an encouraging smile.

She smiled back and struggled to get up but managed it. It legs also shook.

I knew that Dragonite was well enough to stand up, but neither Marowak or Dragonite would be allowed to use any moves without falling down and fainting, they were only strong enough to stay standing.

Luana also knew this, but I knew she would do what ever it took to win.

'Alakazam…' She stopped short as we heard a thud.

I looked to where it came from and it looked like Marowak had fallen

Dragonite was still standing but was struggling to stay up.

Marowak had fallen.

I looked to the referee.

'Marowak has fainted which means Dragonite and Sandslash win, and the victory goes to the challenger, Jordan Hale.'

I couldn't believe it. I had won a double battle, like my previous double battles it didn't last long, but most single battles didn't last long. My first few battles didn't last long.

My first one against Liam was quite short while the one in the battle Chateau was also short.

I think that was Luana's plan, she didn't want a long battle, she wanted a short one, she wasn't one to have challenges that lasted long, not like the other orange crew members, their challenges were longer and didn't really require a battle, they were more of a challenge that involved a Pokémon's skills and not their strength. They wanted to test your other strengths and take you out of your comfort zone.

I returned both Dragonite and Sandslash.

'Thanks guys, you were great.' I said.

Both the Pokeballs shook before I strapped them to my belt.

Luana came up to me.

'Well done, Jordan.' She congratulated me holding out her hand.

I took it and we shook.

'This…' she started taking out a small pale purple conch shell, it had a small, pale yellow, six-pointed star in the centre of it, '…is the Jade Star Badge.'

She gave the badge to me.

I looked at the badge, half in disbelief and half in amazement.

I was in disbelief because I had now collected the final badge of the Orange islands archipelago gym badges. I had completed a second set of Gym badges.

I was amazed that I had actually completed this. This was the hardest Gym battles I had to ever face, and there were only four.

Now I was about to go up to my final challenge, I was about to go and battle against the strongest member of the Orange crew ever, the Pokémon league champion.

'My friends reached me, by the time I had pinned the last badge.

'Well done, Jordan.' Leaf congratulated me.

'That was a pretty good battle.' Tracey agreed.

'And now you can compete in your second Pokémon league.' Camilla told me.

Camilla was right, this is what all of this had been building up to, now was my chance to show the orange islands that I was worthy to win this Pokémon league.

'I understand that you now have four badges.' Luana said. 'That means you must be headed to Pummelo island.' She continued. 'Why don't you stay here for the rest of the day and you can head off tomorrow morning?' Luana asked.

I didn't have a reason not to stay. I could relax for a while, I was in no rush to battle the champion now, plus my Pokémon would need a rest.

My friends didn't seem to have a problem either.

We spent the rest of the day on the beach relaxing and playing with our Pokémon.

Once the sun started to set we headed back to the hotel.

My friends headed straight up, but I needed to make a call.

The person I called answered on the third ring.

'Hello?' They said.

'Hey, Liza.' I greeted. 'I need a favour.'

 **So here's the next chapter, next chapter begins Jordan's battle against the Orange league champion.**

 **Chapter Twenty-Three: A Pummelling**


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